by the entire mass of the earth, that part which I have passed, being above me, will attract me upward. Thus my weight will become lighter and lighter until, when the car reaches the center of the earth, I shall weigh absolutely nothing; then, as the car progresses, and I pass the center and go up toward New York, my weight will gradually return again; and when I finally do reach New York I shall weigh one hundred pounds, as before."
"That 's just exactly what I said!" exclaimed Mr. Curtis, glancing at our hero approvingly.
"I think so, too," observed Flora, timidly. "Well," said Dr. Giles, "your reasons are good, and would be true of bodies at rest; but it will not be true of William in the car. A body at rest at the center of the earth would weigh absolutely nothing; a body at rest half-way to the center would only have about half its normal weight; while a body near the surface would have its complete normal weight. But in William's case it will be altogether different."
"How so?"
"Why, unless I am very much mistaken, at the very moment his car starts he will at once lose all his weight and float up in the air like a feather!"
