The least I could do,
however, was to appease Eveena's fear before turning my attention to
the objects of my own curiosity. The presence of physical strength,
which seemed to her superhuman, produced upon her nerves the quieting
effect which, however irrationally, great bodily force always
exercises over women; partly, perhaps, from the awe it seems to
inspire, partly from a yet more unreasonable but instinctive reliance
on its protection even in dangers against which it is obviously
unavailing.
Presently a current of air, distinctly warmer than that of the tunnel,
which had been gradually increasing in force for some minutes, became
so powerful that I could no longer suppose it accidental. Kevima being
near us, I asked him what it meant.
"Ventilation," he answered. "The air in these tunnels would be foul
and stagnant, perhaps unbreathable, if we did not drive a constant
current of air through them. You did not notice, a few yards from the
entrance, a wheel which drives a large fan. One of these is placed at
every half mile, and drives on the air from one end of the tunnel to
the other.
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