In the floor of the car were grated openings, through which Clewe could look downward; but although the shaft below him was brilliantly illuminated by electric lights placed under the car, it did not frighten him or make him dizzy to look down, for the aperture did not appear to be very far below him.

The upper part of the car was partially open, and bright lights shone upon the sides of the shaft.
As he slowly descended, he could see the various strata appearing and disappearing in the order in which he knew them.

Not far below the surface he passed cavities which he believed held water; but there was no water in them now.

He had expected these, and had feared that upon their edges there might be loosened patches of rock or soil, but everything seemed tightly packed and hard.

If anything had been loosened it had gone down already.
Down, down he went until he came to the eternal rocks, where the inside of the shaft was polished as if it had been made of glass.