the start," corrected the doctor. "As the body neared the center of the earth the increase would become less and less each second, until at the very center of the earth there would be no increase whatever. But, without going into the figures in detail, you will readily see that if the speed of the falling body increased, say, an average of sixteen feet per second, by the time it reached the center of the earth it would be going at such a frightful velocity that it could not stop, but would be carried on right past the center and far up the tube toward the New York end.
"In vain the attraction of the earth would try to hold it back; it would be like the dog pulling against the horse, for the body, carried onward by its acquired velocity, would continue on its mad career, though at a continually decreasing rate, until it came to a stop almost at the very surface of the earth at the New York end of the tube. In fact, if there were no air in the tube, the laws of physics teach us that the body, dropped into the hole here in Australia, would go completely through to the United States!"
"Yes, that 's true enough; but when the body reached the United States, it would simply fall back again, and keep on falling backward and
