CHAPTER III.
A NEW FORCE.
"SIR,
"I have read your article on the possibility of travelling to the other members of the Solar system with much interest. It is a problem at which I, myself, have been working for a great many years, and I believe that I have now discovered a means of solving it in a practical manner. If you would care to see my experiments, and will do me the honour of coming here, I shall be glad to show them in confidence any time you may appoint.--Yours truly,
"NASMYTH CARMICHAEL."
The above letter, marked "Private," was forwarded to me through theeditor of _The Day After To-morrow_. The writer of it was a totalstranger to me, even by report, and at first I did not know what to makeof it. Was the man a charlatan, or a "crank?" There were no signs ofcraziness or humbug in his frank and simple sentences. Had he reallyfound out a way of crossing the celestial spaces? In these days it isbetter not to be too sceptical as to what science will accomplish. Itis, in fact, wise to keep the mind open and suspend the judgment. We arestanding on the threshold of the Arcana, and at any hour thesearch-light of our intellect may penetrate the darkness, and reveal toour wondering gaze the depths of the inner mechanism of Nature.
I resolved to accept his invitation.
A few days later I presented myself at the home of my unknowncorrespondent. It was a lonely little cottage, in the midst of a wildflat or waste of common ground on the outskirts of London. I should sayit had once been the dwelling of a woodman engaged in the neighbouringforest. A tall, thick hedge of holly surrounded the large garden, andalmost concealed it from the curiosity of an occasional wanderer on theheath.
Certainly it did not look the sort of place to find a man of science,and the old misgivings assailed my mind in greater force than ever. Halfregretting that I had come, and feeling in a dubious element, I openedthe wicket, and knocked at the door.
It was answered by a young woman, in a plain gown of some dark stuff,with a white collar round the neck. In spite of her dress I could seethat she was not an ordinary cottage girl. Pretty, without beingbeautiful, there was a distinction in her voice and manner which bespokethe gentlewoman. With a pleasant smile, she welcomed me as one who hadbeen expected, and ushered me into a small sitting-room, poorlyfurnished, but with a taste and refinement unusual in a workman's home.A large piano stood in one of the corners, and a pile of classical musiclay on a chair beside it. The mantelpiece was decorated with cutflowers, and the walls were hung with portraits and sketches in crayonsand water-colour.
"My father will be down in a moment," she said, with a slight Americanaccent. "He is delighted to have the pleasure of meeting you. It is sokind of you to come."
Before I had time to respond, Mr. Carmichael entered the parlour. He wasa man of striking and venerable presence. His long white locks, hisbulging brow, pregnant with brain, his bushy eyebrows and deep blue-greyeyes, his aquiline nose and flowing beard, gave an Olympian cast to hisnoble head. Withal, I could not help noticing that his countenance waslined with care, his black coat seamed and threadbare, his hands roughand horny, like those of a workman. If he appeared a god, it was a godin exile or disgrace; a Saturn rather than a Jove.
"Now to the matter," said he, after a few words of kindly welcome."Evidently the question of inter-planetary travel is coming to thefront. In your article you suggest that a locomotive car, that is tosay, a car able to propel itself through what we, in our ignorance, callempty space, though, in reality, it is chock-full, and very 'thrang' asthe Scotch say, might yet be contrived, and even worked by energy drawnfrom the ether direct. When I read that, sir, I sat up and rubbed myeyes."
"Your spectacles, father," said Miss Carmichael.
"Well, it's the same thing," went on the old man. "For like many anotherprophet, sir, you had prophesied better than you knew."
"How do you mean?" I inquired, with a puzzled air.
"If you will step with me into the garden I will show you."
I rose and followed him into a large shed, which was fitted up as aworkshop and laboratory. It contained several large benches, providedwith turning lathes and tools, a quantity of chemicals, and scientificapparatus.
"I am going to do a thing that I have never done in my life before,"said Mr. Carmichael, in a sad and doubtful tone; "I have kept thissecret so long that it seems like parting with myself to disclose it,to disclose even the existence of it. I have fed upon it as a young manfeeds on love. It has been my nourishment, my manna in the wilderness ofthis world, my solace under a thousand trials, my inspiration from onHigh. I verily believe it has kept my old carcase together. Mind!" headded, with a penetrating glance of his grey eyes, which gleamed undertheir bushy brows like a pool of water in a cavern overhung withbrambles, "promise me that whatever you see and hear will remain asecret on your part. Never breathe a word of it to a living soul. Youare the only person, except my own daughter, whom I have ever taken intomy confidence."
I gave him my word of honour.
"Very well," he continued, lifting a small metal box from one of thetables, and patting it with his hand. "I have been working at thesubject of aerial navigation for well-nigh thirty years, and this is theresult."
I looked at the metal case, but could see nothing remarkable about it.
"It seems a little thing, hardly worth a few pence, and yet how much Ihave paid for it!" said the inventor, with a sigh, and a far-awayexpression in his eyes. "Many a time it has reminded me of the mouse'snest that was turned up by the ploughshare.
"'Thy wee bit heap o' strae and stibble Has cost thee mony a weary nibble.'
Of course this is only a model."
"A model of a flying machine?" I inquired, in a tone of surprise.
"You may call it so," he answered; "but it is a flying machine that doesnot fly or soar in the strict sense of the words, for it has neitherwings nor aeroplane. It is, in fact, an aerial locomotive, as you willsee."
While he spoke, Mr. Carmichael opened the case of the instrument, andadjusted the mechanism inside. Immediately afterwards, to myastonishment, the box suddenly left his hands, and flew, or ratherglided, swiftly through the air, and must have dashed itself against thewall of the laboratory had not its master run and caught it.
"Wonderful!" I exclaimed, forgetting the attitude of caution and reservewhich I had deemed it prudent to adopt.
The inventor laughed with childish glee, enjoying his triumph, andstroking the case as though it were a kitten.
"It would be off again if I would let it. Whoa, there!" said he, againadjusting the mechanism. "I can make it rise, or sink, or steer, to oneside or the other, just as I please. If you will kindly hold it for aminute, I will make it go up to the ceiling. Don't be afraid, it won'tbite you."
I took the uncanny little instrument in my hands, whilst Mr. Carmichaelascended a ladder to a kind of loft in the shed. It only weighed a fewpounds, and yet I could feel it exerting a strong force to escape.
"Ready!" cried the inventor, "now let go," and sure enough, the box rosesteadily upwards until it came within his grasp. "I am going to send itdown to you again," he continued, and I expected to see it drop like astone to the ground; but, strange to say, it circled gracefully throughthe air in a spiral curve, and landed gently at my feet.
"You see I have entire control over it," said Mr. Carmichael, rejoiningme; "but all you have seen has taken place in air, and you might,therefore, suppose that I have an air propellor inside, and that air isnecessary to react against it, like water against the screw of asteamboat, in order to produce the motion. I will now show you that airis not required, and that my locomotive works quite as well in avacuum."
So saying, he put the model under a large bell-jar, from which heexhausted the air with a pump; and even then it moved about with as muchalacrity and freedom as it had done in the atmosphere.
I confess that I was still haunted by a lingering suspicion of themachine and its inventor; but this experiment went f
ar to destroy it.Even if the motive power was derived from a coiled spring, or compressedair, or electricity, in the box, how was it possible to make it actwithout the resistance offered by the air? Magnetism was equally out ofthe question, since no conceivable arrangement of magnets could havebrought about the movements I had seen. Either I was hypnotised, andimposed upon, or else this man had discovered what had been unknown toscience. His earnest and straightforward manner was not that of amountebank. There had been no attempt to surround his work with mystery,and cloak his demonstration in unmeaning verbiage. It is true I hadnever heard of him in the world of science, but after all an outsideroften makes a great discovery under the nose of the professors.
"Am I to understand," said I, "that you have found a way of navigatingboth the atmosphere and the ether?"
"As you see," he replied, briefly.
"What the model has done, you are able to do on a larger scale--in apractical manner?"
"Assuredly. It is only a matter of size."
"And you can maintain the motion?"
"As long as you like."
"Marvellous! And how is it done?"
"Ah!" exclaimed the inventor, "that is my secret. I am afraid I must notanswer that question at present."
"Is the plan not patented?"
"No. The fact is, I have not yet investigated the subject as fully as Iwould like. My mind is not quite clear as to the causes of thephenomena. I have discovered a new field of research, and greatdiscoveries are still to be made in it. Were I to patent the machine, Ishould have to divulge what I know. Indeed, but for the sake of mydaughter, I am not sure that I should ever patent it. Even as it stands,it will revolutionise not merely our modes of travel, but ourindustries. It has been to me a labour of love, not of money; and Iwould gladly make it a gift of love to my fellowmen."
"It is the right spirit," said I; "and I have no doubt that a gratefulworld would reward you."
"I wouldn't like to trust it," replied Mr. Carmichael, with a smile andshrug of the shoulders. "How many inventors has it doomed to pine inpoverty and neglect, or die of a broken heart? How often has it stolen,aye stolen, the priceless fruits of their genius and labour? Speakingfor myself, I don't complain; I haven't had much to do with it. Mywithdrawal from it has been voluntary. I was born in the south ofScotland, and educated for the medical profession; but I emigrated toAmerica, and was engaged in one of Colonel Fremont's exploringexpeditions to the Rocky Mountains. After that I was appointed to thechair of Physical Science in a college of Louisville, Kentucky, where mydaughter was born. One day, when I was experimenting to find outsomething else, I fell by accident upon the track of my discovery, andever since I have devoted my life to the investigation. It appeared tome of the very highest importance. As time went on, I grew more and moreabsorbed in it. Every hour that I had to give to my official and socialduties seemed thrown away. A man cannot serve two masters, and as I alsofound it difficult to carry on my experiments in secrecy, I resigned mypost. I had become a citizen of the United States, but my wife was aWelshwoman, and had relations in England. So we came to London. Whenshe died, I settled in this isolated spot, where I could study in peace,enjoy the fresh air, and easily get the requisite books and apparatus.Here, with my daughter, I live a very secluded life. She is my solecompanion, my housekeeper, my servant, and my assistant in thelaboratory. She knows as much about my machine, and can work it as wellas I do myself. Indeed, I don't know what I should have done withouther. She has denied herself the ordinary amusements of her age. Herdevotion to me has been beautiful."
The voice of the old man trembled, and I fancied I could read in hishollow eyes the untold martyrdom of genius.
"At last," he continued, "I have brought the matter into a practicalshape, and like many other inventors, for the first time I stand in needof advice. Happening to see your article in the Magazine, I resolved toinvite you to come and see what I have done in hopes that you might beable to advise and perhaps help me."
"I think," said I, after a moment's reflection, "I think the next thingto be done is to make a large working machine, and try it on a voyage."
"Quite so," he replied; "and I am prepared to build one that will go toany part of the earth, or explore the higher regions of the atmosphere,or go down under the sea, or even make a trip to one of the nearerplanets, Mars or Venus as the case may be. But I am poor; my littlefortune is all but exhausted, and here, at the end of the race, withinsight of the goal, I lack the wherewithal to reach it. Now, sir, if youcan see your way to provide the funds, I will give you a share in theprofits of the invention."
I pondered his words in silence. Visions of travel through the air indistant lands, above the rhododendron forests of the Himalayas, or thegreen Savannahs of the Orinoco, the coral isles of the Pacific; yea,further still, through the starlit crypts of space to other spheres werehovering in my fancy. The singular history of the man, too, had touchedmy feelings. Nevertheless, I hesitated to accept his offer there andthen. It was hardly a proposal to decide upon without due consideration.
"I will think it over and let you know," said I at length. "Have you anyobjection to my consulting Professor Gazen, the well-known astronomer?He is a friend of mine. Perhaps he will be able to assist us."
"None whatever, so long as he keeps the affair to himself. You canbring him to see the experiments if you like. All I reserve is that Ishall not be asked to explain the inner action of the machine. That mustremain a secret; but some day I hope to show you even that."
"Thanks."