CHAPTER THREE.
THE "FLYING FISH."
During the whole of the following week stores of various kinds necessaryto the comfort and sustenance of the voyagers were being constantlydelivered at the building yard, where they were received by the valetand cook of Sir Reginald Elphinstone--the only servants or assistants ofany kind who were to accompany the expedition--and promptly stowed awayby them, under the direction of the professor, who was exceedinglyanxious to accurately preserve the proper "trim" of the vessel--a muchmore important and difficult matter than it would have been had she beendesigned to navigate the ocean only. By mid-day on Saturday the lastarticle had been received, including the personal belongings of thetravellers, the stowage was completed, and everything was ready for animmediate start.
At three o'clock on the following Monday afternoon the voyagers met inthe smoke-room of the "Migrants'" as a convenient and appropriaterendezvous, and, without having dropped the slightest hint to anyonerespecting the novel nature of their intended journey, quietly said"Good-bye" to the two or three men who happened to be there, and,chartering a couple of hansoms, made the best of their way to FenchurchStreet railway station, from whence they took the train to Blackwall.On emerging from the latter station they placed themselves under theguidance of the professor, and were by him conducted in a few minutes tothe building yard. The professor was the only one of the quartette whohad as yet set eyes on the vessel in which they were about to embark;and the remaining three naturally felt a little flutter of curiosity asthey passed through the gateway and saw before them the enormousclosely-boarded shed which jealously hid from all unprivileged eyes thelatest marvel of science. But they were Englishmen, and as such it wasa part of their creed to preserve an absolutely unruffled equanimityunder every conceivable combination of circumstances, so between thewhiffs of their cigars they chatted carelessly about anything andeverything but the object upon which their thoughts were just thencentred.
But the baronet's equanimity was for a moment upset when the professor,after a perhaps unnecessarily prolonged fumbling with the key, threwopen the wicket which gave admission to the interior of the shed, and,stepping back to allow his companions to precede him, exclaimed in tonesof exultant pride, in that broken English of his which it is unnecessaryto further reproduce:
"Behold, gentlemen, the embodiment of a scientist's dream--the _FlyingFish_!"
The baronet advanced a pace or two, then stopped short, aghast.
"Good heavens!" he ejaculated. "What, in the name of madness, have youdone, professor? That huge object will _never_ float in the air; and Ishould say it will be a pretty expensive business to get her into the_water_, if indeed it is worth while to put her there."
The other two, the representatives of the army and of the navy, thoughprobably as much astonished as the baronet, said nothing. They knewconsiderably more than the latter about the capabilities of science; andthough they might possibly entertain grave doubts as to the success ofthe professor's experiment, they did not feel called upon to express anoff-hand opinion that it would prove a failure.
The baronet might well be excused his hasty expression of incredulity.Towering above and in front of him, filling up the entire space of theenormous shed from end to end and from ground to roof-timbers, he saw animmense cylinder, pointed at both ends, and constructed entirely of thepolished silver-like metal which the professor had called aethereum.The sides of the ship from stem to stern formed a series of faultlesscurves; the conical bow or fore body of the ship being somewhat longer,and therefore sharper, than the after body, which partook more of theform of an ellipse than of a cone; the curvilinear hull was supportedsteadily in position by two deep broad bilge-keels, one on either sideand about one-third the extreme length of the ship; and, attached to thestern of the vessel by an ingeniously devised ball-and-socket joint insuch a manner as to render a rudder unnecessary, was to be seen a hugepropeller having four tremendously broad sickle-shaped blades, the palmsof which were hollowed in such a manner as to gather in and concentratethe air, or water, about the boss and powerfully project it thence in adirect line with the longitudinal axis of the ship. Crowning the wholethere was a low superstructure immediately over and of the same lengthas the bilge-keels, very much resembling the upper works of a double-bowed vessel such as are some of the small Thames river steamers. Thiswas decked over, and afforded a promenade about two hundred feet long bythirty feet wide. And, lastly, rising from the centre of this deckthere was a spacious pilot-house with a dome-like roof, from theinterior of which the movements of the vessel could be completelycontrolled. The entire hull of the vessel, excepting the double-bowedsuperstructure, was left unpainted, and it shone like a polished mirror.The superstructure, however, was painted a delicate grey tint, with therelief of a massive richly gilded cable moulding all round the shear-strake and the further adornment of a broad ribbon of a rich crimson huerippling through graceful wreaths of gilded scroll-work at bow andstern, the name _Flying Fish_ being inscribed on the ribbon in goldletters. Altogether, notwithstanding her unusual form, the aerial shipwas an exceedingly graceful and elegant object, and, but for herenormous proportions, looked admirably adapted for her work.
Under other circumstances the professor would probably have beenseriously offended at the baronet's incredulous exclamation; but as itwas he was so confident of his success--so gratified and triumphantaltogether--that he could afford to be not only forgiving but actuallytolerant. He therefore replied to Sir Reginald only with a mute smileof amused compassion for the baronet's lamentable ignorance andunbelief.
The professor's smile somewhat reassured Sir Reginald, though he stillcontinued to eye his novel possession very dubiously.
"You once spoke of Atlantic liners," he at last remarked to theprofessor; "but surely this craft is larger than the largest Atlanticliner afloat. What are her dimensions?"
"She is six hundred feet long, by sixty feet diameter at the point ofher greatest girth," quietly replied the professor.
"And do you mean to tell me that such a monster will ever float in theair?" ejaculated the baronet, his incredulity returning and takingpossession of him with tenfold tenacity.
"I do," answered the professor firmly, his self-love at length becomingslightly ruffled. "In that ship you shall to-night soar higher into theempyrean than mortal has ever soared before; and after that you shall,if you choose, sleep calmly until morning at the bottom of the EnglishChannel. By and by at the dinner-table I will endeavour to demonstrateto you, my dear friend, that it is her immense proportions alone whichwill enable her to float in so thin a fluid as air."
"Very well," said the baronet in the tones of a man still utterlyunconvinced; "if you say so, I suppose I must doubt no more. Now,please, introduce to us the novel details of this wonderful craft ofyours."
"With pleasure," answered the professor, his brow clearing and agratified smile suffusing his countenance. "A few minutes will sufficeto show you all that can be seen from the outside. Those small circularpieces of glass which you perceive let into the hull here and there are,as you have no doubt already surmised, windows to enable us to observewhat is passing outside. The larger windows at the bow and sternprotect powerful electric lamps, and are exclusively for the purpose oflighting up our surroundings when we are at the bottom of the sea.This,"--pointing to what looked like a circular trap-door in the bottomof the ship, some fifteen feet from the centre on the port side--"is theanchor recess; and this,"--pointing to a corresponding arrangement onthe starboard side--"is the door through which we shall obtain egressfrom and access to the ship when she is at the bottom of the sea."
"Do you mean by that, that we are going to leave the ship and walk abouton the bed of the ocean?" asked the baronet.
"Certainly," answered the professor with a look of surprise. "Ourexploration of the ocean's bed will probably be one of the mostinteresting incidents of the expedition."
The baronet shrugged his shoulders and the professor con
tinued:
"These bilge-keels serve a threefold purpose; they enable the ship torest steadily and firmly on the ground, as you see, which, from herpeculiar form, she could not otherwise do; they also form the sheaths,so to speak, of four anchors to fasten her securely to the ground eitherabove or beneath the water--a most necessary precaution, believe me; andthey also add considerably to the cubical contents of the water-chambers, with which they communicate, which will help to sink the shipto the bottom. Lastly, there is the propeller, the only peculiaritiesof which are its great diameter--fifty feet--its enormous surface area,and the fact that it is attached to the hull in such a way as to admitof its being turned freely in any direction, thus dispensing with allnecessity for a rudder."
"Why have you left the hull unpainted, professor? I suppose you hadsome good reason for so doing?" remarked the colonel, chiming into theconversation.
"I had no less than _three_ good reasons for leaving the hull of theship unpainted," answered the professor. "In the first place, aethereumis quite insensible to the attacks of air and water--it never oxidises,and paint was therefore unnecessary for its preservation. In the nextplace, the quantity of paint necessary to cover that enormous surfacewould weigh something considerable; and, as I have throughout the worktaken the utmost pains to keep down all the weight to the lowest ounceconsistent with absolute safety, I rejected it on that account. Andlastly, I take it that we are anxious to avoid all unnecessaryobservation; and I believe this cannot be better accomplished than bypreserving the brilliant metallic lustre of the hull, which, especiallywhen we are floating in mid-air, will reflect the tints of thesurrounding atmosphere, and so make it almost impossible to distinguishus."
"Except when the sun's rays fall directly upon us, eh, professor?"remarked Mildmay.
"In that case," returned the professor, "observers will see a dazzlingflash of light in which all shape will be indistinguishable."
"And we shall thus be mistaken for a meteorite," exclaimed the baronetsomewhat sarcastically. "Excellent! admirable! I really mustcongratulate you, professor, upon the wonderful foresight with which youseem to have provided for every possible and impossible emergency. Now,what is the next marvel?"
"There is nothing more down here. We will now proceed on board, if youplease, gentlemen," said the professor; and he forthwith led the way upa ladder which leaned against the vessel's lofty side. This conductedthem as far as the upper curve of her cylindrical bilge, at which pointthey encountered a flight of light ornamental openwork steps permanentlyattached to the ship's side, up which they passed to the gangway in thestout metal railing which served instead of bulwark, and so reached thespacious promenade deck. Looking down into the yard from this coign ofvantage, they seemed to be an enormous height from the ground; and thebaronet shrugged his shoulders more expressively than ever as he glancedfirst below and then around him, realising more fully than ever, as hedid so, the immense proportions of his new possession. He said nothing,however, but turned inquiringly to the professor.
"This way, gentlemen, if you please," said the German, in answer to thelook; and he led them aft to what may be styled the quarter-deck.
"You spoke about the weight of a coat of paint on the hull just now, butI see you have planked the deck. The weight of all this planking mustbe something considerable," remarked Mildmay.
"A mere trifle; it is only a thin veneering just to give a secure andcomfortable foothold," remarked the professor. He paused at what lookedlike a trap-door in the deck and said:
"We shall not be always soaring in the air nor groping about at thebottom of the sea; we shall sometimes be riding on the surface; and Ihave therefore thought it advisable to provide a couple of boats. Hereis one of them."
He stooped down, seized hold of and turned a ring in the flap, andraised the trap-door, disclosing a dark pit-like recess of considerabledimensions. Letting the flap fold back flat on the deck, the professorthen stooped down and grasped the handle of a horizontal lever which layjust below the level of the deck, and drew it up into a perpendicularposition, and, as he did so, a pair of davits, the upper portions ofwhich had been plainly visible, rose through the aperture close to theprotecting railing, bringing with them a handsomely modelled boathanging from the tackles. The professor deftly turned the davitsoutward, and there hung the boat at the quarter in the exact positionshe would have occupied in an ordinary ship.
"Bravo, professor; very clever indeed!" exclaimed Mildmay. "But what isthe object of those four curved tubes projecting through the boat'sbottom?"
"Those tubes," answered the professor, "are the boat's means ofpropulsion. You see," he explained, "being built of aethereum, the boatis extremely light, and draws so little water that a screw propellerwould be quite useless to her. So I have substituted those tubesinstead. One pair, you will observe, points toward the stern, and onepair toward the bow. The boat's engine is a powerful three-cylinderpump, and it sucks the water strongly in through the tubes which pointforward, discharging it as powerfully out through those which pointastern; thus drawing and driving the boat along at a speed of abouttwelve knots per hour, which is as fast, I fancy, as we shall ever wanther to go. If you want to go astern the movement of a single leverreverses the whole process. There is a similar boat on the other side."
The boat having been returned to her hiding-place, the professor nextled his friends to the structure which occupied the centre of the deck.It was a perfectly plain erection, with curved sides meeting in a kindof stem and stern-post at its forward and after ends, with a curveddome-like roof, several small circular windows all round its sides, andno apparent means of entry.
"Why, how is this, professor? You have actually built your pilot-house--for such I suppose it is--without a door," exclaimed the baronetwith returning good-humour as he perceived that, even in the event ofthe _Flying Fish_ failing to fly, he would still have a very wonderfulship for his money.
"As you have rightly supposed, this _is_ the pilot-house," answered theprofessor, with one hand pressing lightly against the gleaming wall ofthe structure. "But as to its being without a door, you are mistaken,for there it is."
And as he spoke a door, hitherto unnoticed in the side of the building,flew open.
"Why, you are a veritable magician, professor! How on earth did youmanage that?" exclaimed the colonel.
"Easily enough," answered the professor. "Just look here, all of you.This is a secret door which it is necessary you should all know how toopen. Now, there are four of us, are there not? Very well; find thefourth rivet from the bottom in the fourth row from the after end of thebuilding--here it is--push it to your left--_not_ press it; pressing isno good--and open flies the door. Push the rivet to the _right_ whenthe door is open, and you shut it--so," suiting the action to the word."Now, Sir Reginald, let me see if you can open that door."
The baronet opened and closed the door without difficulty; and then theother two essayed the attempt with similarly successful results.
"That is all right," commented the professor. "Now step inside, please;and close the door--so: when you want to open it from the inside yousimply turn this handle--so, and open it comes."
The quartette now found themselves inside the pilothouse, which provedto be two stories in height. On their right hand they beheld thecompanion-way leading to the interior of the ship, with a wide flight ofstairs of delightfully easy descent, handsomely carpeted, and amagnificent massive handrail and balusters of gleaming aethereum. Thesquare opening to the companion-way was also protected by a similarhandrail and balusters, producing an exceedingly rich effect and seemingto promise a corresponding sumptuousness of fitting in the saloonsbelow.
Just clear of the head of the companion staircase and leading up oneside of the pilot-house was another light staircase of open grid-workleading to the floor above, which, at a height of seven feet, spannedthe building from side to side. This floor was also of light opengridwork, affording easy verbal communication between perso
ns occupyingthe different stories in the pilot-house. Through this open grid-floorcould be seen various apparatus, the objects of which the new-comerswere naturally anxious to learn; and to this floor the professoraccordingly led his companions up the staircase.
The first object to which he directed attention was a long straight barof aethereum handsomely moulded into the form of a thick cable, andfinished off at the outer end with the semblance of a "Matthew Walker"knot. This bar issued at its inner end from a handsomely panelled andmoulded casing which extended down through both floors of the pilot-house, presumably covering in and protecting the mechanism with whichthe bar was obviously connected.
"This," said the professor, laying his hand on the bar, "is the steeringapparatus--the tiller as you call it--of the ship. It moves, as yousee, in all directions, and communicates a corresponding movement to thepropeller--as you may see, if you will take the trouble to look outthrough one of those windows."
The trio immediately did so, and saw, as the professor had stated, thatwith every movement of the tiller, right or left, up or down, thepropeller inclined itself at a corresponding angle. A handsome binnaclecompass stood immediately in front of the tiller, but the professor didnot call attention to it, rightly assuming that his companions werefully acquainted with its use and purpose.
On the professor's right, as he stood at the tiller, was an uprightlever working in a quadrant, and communicating, like the tiller--andindeed all the other apparatus--with the interior of the ship.
"This," said the professor, directing attention to the lever, "is thelever which controls the valves of the main engines. I have fashionedand arranged it exactly like the corresponding lever in a locomotive.Placed vertically, thus, the engines remain motionless. Thrown forward,thus, the engines will turn ahead. And thrown backward, thus, they willturn astern. That is simple enough. And so is this," directingattention to a dial on his left hand which stood facing him. The dialhad a single hand which was obviously intended to travel over acarefully graduated arc of ninety degrees painted on the dial-face, andwhich, in addition to the graduations, was marked in the properpositions with the words "Stop;" "Quarter speed;" "Half speed;" "Fullspeed;" and also with two arrows pointing in opposite directions marked"On" and "Off" respectively. Just beneath the dial was a small wheelwith a crank-handle projecting from one of its spokes, and on thiscrank-handle the professor now laid his hand.
"This," he said, "regulates the valve which admits vapour into theengine; and the dial-hand shows the extent to which the valve is opened.Turn the wheel in the direction of the arrow marked `On'--thus, and youadmit vapour into the engine. You will observe that, as I turn thewheel, the hand on the dial travels over the arc and indicates theextent to which the valve is open. There; now it is fully open, and thecylinders are full of vapour." Then he quickly reversed the wheel andsent the index hand back to "Stop," keeping a wary eye on his companionsas he did so.
"These are dangerous things to meddle with," he remarked apologetically."The engines are of one hundred thousand horse-power; and, full as theship now is of air at the atmospheric pressure, they would drive herirresistibly along the ground and through all obstacles. I must begthat none of you will meddle with the machinery until you are fullyacquainted with its tremendous power."
"What is this pendulum-looking affair, professor?" asked the colonel,pointing to a pendulum the point of which hung in a shallow basin-likedepression thickly studded with needle-points which the pendulum justcleared by a hair's-breadth.
"That," explained the professor, "is a device for automaticallyregulating the balance, or `trim' as you call it, of the ship when sheis floating in the air. You will readily understand that when freed ofair, and thus deprived of weight, as it were, the most trifling matterwill suffice to derange her equilibrium; one of us, walking from side toside, or from one end of the deck to the other, would very seriouslyincline her from the horizontal, and thus alter the direction of herflight, possibly with disastrous results; so I have devised this littleapparatus to prevent all that. This pendulum, as you see, is sodelicately poised that it will instantly respond to the slightestdeviation from a horizontal position, and, swaying over one of theseneedle-points, will send an electric current to the air-pump, causing itto promptly inject a sufficient quantity of air into the proper chamberto restore the equilibrium. But, as we may desire occasionally todirect the flight of the ship in an upward or a downward direction, Ihave so arranged matters that the apparatus shall be thrown out of gearwhen the tiller is sloped in either direction out of the horizontal; andas we shall not require it when the ship is on or below the surface ofthe ocean, I have here provided a small knob by pressing which inwardsthe apparatus can also be thrown out of gear until it is again wanted."
"Excellent!" exclaimed the baronet. "I must again congratulate you,professor, on your truly wonderful forethought. And what is this,pray?"
"That," said the German, "is the controlling lever of the air-pump.When we want to sink into the depths of the ocean, I thrust this leverover--so; and the pump at once begins to pump air into the air-chambers."
"_Out_ of them, I suppose you mean," interrupted the baronet.
"_Into_ them, I mean," insisted the professor. "You must understand,"he continued, noting the baronet's look of astonishment, "that air, likeeverything else, has _weight_. Feathers are light; but you may packthem so tightly into a receptacle as to make them very weighty; and sois it with air: the more air you force into a receptacle of given sizethe heavier you make that receptacle; and, provided that both yourforcing apparatus and your receptacle are strong enough to endure thetremendous pressure, you may at last force enough air into thereceptacle to sink it. And that is precisely what we shall do; we shallforce air into our air-chambers until the ship is on the point ofsinking, and we shall then close the valves, stop the air-pump, and,opening the sea-cocks of the water-chambers, admit water enough into theship to send her to the bottom like a stone."
"Well! you astonish me, I freely admit," gasped the baronet. "This isthe first time I ever heard of a ship being sunk by filling her withair. And then the cool way in which you talk of our `sinking to thebottom like a stone!' I undertook this enterprise because I wanted toexperience a new sensation; and it appears to me that there are a goodmany of them in store for me. However, it is all right; go on with yourexplanations, my dear sir."
"These," said the professor, indicating several levers marked withdistinguishing labels ranged all along one side of the pilot-house, "arethe levers opening and closing the valves of the air and water chambers,and need no further description. This," he continued, pointing to asmall box with a little knob projecting out of the top of it, "is theapparatus for firing our torpedo shells."
The baronet glanced mutely round at his companions, and shrugged hisshoulders expressively, as who should say, "What next?"
The colonel and the lieutenant nodded approvingly, however, and thelatter said:
"That is capital, professor; we ought to have the means of fighting theship, if necessary; but I was beginning to fear you had overlooked thatmatter, having seen no provision for anything of the kind. But where isyour torpedo port? you omitted to point that out to us when we wereunder the ship's bottom."
"There was nothing to show," replied the professor; "and I can explainthe matter just as well up here as I could have done when we were downbelow. The conical point which forms the extreme forward end of theship is solid and movable. Under ordinary circumstances it remainsfirmly fixed in position; but when it becomes necessary to fire atorpedo-shell the solid point is made to slide in along a grooved tubefor a certain distance; the shell is then placed in the tube and fired,when the solid point follows it out and becomes again securely fixed inits former position. In addition to this arrangement, I have two largeguns which can be worked through ports in the dining-saloon, and sixwonderful magazine rifles invented by a Mr Maxim, a friend of mine.They are perhaps the most wonderful pieces of mechanism in the s
hip, forwhen the first shot has been fired they will go on firing themselves atthe marvellous rate of six hundred shots per minute so long as you keepthem supplied with cartridges. Then I have also provided an amplesupply of ordinary guns and rifles, swords, pikes, pistols, and in facteverything we are likely to require for the purposes of sport ordefence. These small knobs afford the means of lighting the electriclamp in the lantern on the top of the pilot-house and those in the bowand stern of the ship. And that is all to which I think I need directyour attention here at present. Now, if you please, we will go down andlook at the machinery."
The party accordingly left the pilot-house and directed their stepsbelow by way of the grand staircase. At the bottom of this they foundthemselves upon a spacious landing magnificently carpeted, and lightedat each end by a circular window in the side of the ship. In front ofthem as they descended the staircase, and at a distance of about twelvefeet from its base, a partition stretched from side to side of the ship,evidently forming one of the saloon bulkheads. Along the face of this aseries of Corinthian pilasters, supporting a noble cornice at thejunction of wall and ceiling, divided up the partition into acorresponding number of panels, which were enriched with elegantmouldings of fanciful scroll-work and painted in creamy white and gold.In two instances, however, at points which divided the partition intothree equal parts, the panels were replaced by handsome massivelymoulded doors of unpainted aethereum, imparting a very rich and handsomeeffect. These doors were, however, closed, and the curiosity of thenew-comers as to what was to be seen on the other side of them had toremain for a short time ungratified.
Passing round to the back of the grand staircase (in which direction laythe sleeping apartments, bath-rooms, and domestic offices) they foundthemselves at the head of another staircase much narrower than theformer. The one now before them was only about four feet wide, windingcork-screw fashion round the tube which encased the communicationsbetween the pilot-house and the engine-room, etcetera, and it was in itsturn encased in a cylindrical bulk-head, in which, on their way below,they passed several doors giving access, as the professor explained, tothe different decks.
Winding their way downward for a considerable distance they at lengthreached the foot of the staircase and passed at once through a doorwaymarked "Engine Room." The first sensation of those who now visited thisapartment for the first time was disappointment. The room, though fullof machinery, was small, absurdly so, it seemed to them. So also withthe machinery itself. The main engines, consisting of a pair of three-cylinder compound engines, though made throughout of aethereum, andconsequently presenting an exceedingly handsome appearance, suggestedmore the idea of an exquisite model in silver than anything else, thepair occupying very little more space than those of one of the largerThames river steamers. The impression of diminutiveness and inadequacyof power passed away, however, when the professor informed hiscompanions that the vapour would enter the high-pressure cylinder at theastounding pressure of five thousand pounds to the square inch, andthat, though the engines themselves would only make fifty revolutionsper minute, the propeller, would be made, by means of speed-multiplyinggear, to revolve at the rate of one thousand times per minute in air ofordinary atmospheric pressure.
"But how on earth do you manage to get your vapour up to that tremendouspressure?" asked the colonel.
"Oh!" answered the professor, "that is a mere matter of mixing.According to the proportions in which the crystals and the acid aremingled together, so is the pressure of the vapour."
"And how do you mingle them together?" asked the lieutenant.
"This," said the professor, leading them up to a small boiler-likevessel, "is the generator. The crystals are placed in a hopper at oneend, and the acid in that small tank at the other, from whence they arerespectively conducted along tubes into a small well in the bottom ofthe generator, where, their proportions being regulated by the size ofthe tubes through which they pass, they mingle and generate a vapourhaving a pressure of five thousand pounds on the square inch. See,there is the gauge, and it is now registering a pressure of fivethousand pounds."
"Good Heavens, man!" exclaimed the baronet, starting back; "you don'tmean to say that your generator is _now_, at this moment, subjected tothat enormous pressure of more than two tons per square inch? Supposingit exploded, what would become of us?"
"We should be consumed in an instant by the fierce heat of the liberatedvapour," replied the professor calmly. "But," he continued, "you needhave no apprehension of an explosion. When that generator was beingmade I had a second one constructed at the same time, precisely similarin every respect, and this second one I tested to destruction, with thesatisfactory result that it endured without distress a pressure ofthirty-five tons per square inch, showed the first signs of weaknesswhen it became subjected to a pressure of thirty-eight tons, and burstat a joint when under a pressure of forty-three tons per square inch.You may therefore feel quite satisfied that the generator is fully equalto a continuous pressure of at least fifteen tons, instead of the trifleover two which it will have to sustain."
The remainder of the machinery possessing no very startling or novelfeatures, it was passed by with merely an admiring glance at itsexquisite finish; and the quartette, leaving the engine-room, passedround on the other side of the spiral staircase to a room marked "DivingRoom."
Entering this they found themselves in an apartment about twenty feetsquare, one side of which was wholly occupied by four cupboards labelledrespectively "Sir Reginald Elphinstone," "Colonel Lethbridge,""Lieutenant Mildmay," and "Von Schalckenberg."
"This," explained the professor, "is the room wherein we shall equipourselves for our submarine rambles; and here," opening one of thecupboards, "are the costumes which we shall wear upon such occasions."
The opened cupboard contained an ordinary indiarubber diving-dress, asort of double knapsack, a number of heterogeneous articles, and,lastly, a suit of armour.
"Why, professor, what, in the name of all that is comical, is themeaning of this? Are we to walk forth among the fishes equipped likethe knights of old?" asked the baronet, pointing to the armour.
"I will explain," said the professor. "In an ordinary diving-dress aman can only descend to a depth of something like fifteen fathoms.Instances have certainly occurred where this depth has been exceeded, aLiverpool diver named Hooper having descended as far as thirty-fourfathoms, if my information is correct; but this was quite an exceptionalcircumstance; and, as I have said, fifteen fathoms may be taken as theaverage depth at which a man can move about and work in comfort. Thereason for this limit is that beyond it the pressure of the water on theexposed hands is so great as to drive the blood to the head and bring ona fainting fit, if nothing worse; besides which, the volume of airinside the dress necessary to counteract the outside pressure of thewater would be so great as to speedily result in suffocation. Now, ifour explorations were limited to a depth of fifteen fathoms only theywould hardly be worth the undertaking; so I have devised these suits ofarmour, in which we may safely explore the profoundest depths of theocean to which the _Flying Fish_ can penetrate. The armour is, as yousee, composed of a number of small scales or plates of aethereum, and isso constructed that, whilst it is perfectly flexible, permitting theutmost freedom of movement to the wearer, it is also absolutely water-tight and incompressible, no matter how great the exterior pressure towhich it is subjected. The wearer of it will consequently be perfectlyprotected at all points from the enormous water pressure; and he will beable to breathe in comfort, his air being supplied to him at the normalatmospheric pressure. In equipping himself the diver will first don theindia-rubber diving-dress in the usual way. Then he will assume thisdouble-haversack, the larger chamber of which, worn on the back, willcontain a supply of air, whilst the smaller of the two, worn on thechest, is charged with a supply of chemicals for the purification of theair after it has been breathed. The two are connected together by apair of flexible tubes, as you may perceive, and the me
re expansion andcontraction of the chest, in the act of breathing, sets in motion thesimple apparatus which produces the necessary circulation of air betweenthe two chambers. Having secured this haversack in position the divernext dons his body armour, and straps about his waist this belt, withits electric lamp and its dagger. The dagger, as you see, is double-bladed; it has a haft of insulating material, and the blades haveconnected to them this insulated wire at the point where the blades andthe handle unite. You thus have a weapon which, on being plunged intothe body of a foe, not only inflicts a severe wound, but alsoadministers an electric shock of such terrible intensity as must resultin instant death. The last portion of the armour to be assumed is thehelmet, on the top of which is securely fixed an electric lamp, which,with the aid of the one at the belt, will give us, I imagine, as muchlight as we are likely to need.
"Having donned our armour we pass out of this chamber into the next,which I call the chamber of egress, carefully closing the door behindus."
The professor, suiting the action to the word, ushered his companionsinto the next chamber, closing the door behind him, and they foundthemselves in a small room some ten feet square by seven feet in height.This room, in common with the diving-room, was brilliantly lighted byan electric lamp inclosed in a lantern of abnormally thick glass.
"Arrived here," continued the professor, "we are all ready to sallyforth upon our submarine explorations; all we have to do therefore is,first to fill the chamber with water by means of this valve, then openthe trap-door and step forth upon the bottom of the sea."
As the professor said this he released the fastenings of the door, andit fell down, forming a sort of inclined plane, over which they passed,to find themselves once more on the solid earth, under the ship'sbottom, with the starboard bilge-keel rising like a wall of silverbefore them. They passed along the lane formed by this keel and thecylindrical bottom of the ship, and then stepped back with one accord totake another glance aloft at the huge bulk of the ship as she toweredhigh above them. They now became conscious of the sounds of vigoroushammering and of men's voices in the direction of the river gable of thebuilding shed, and on looking in that direction they saw that thecontractor, whom the professor had engaged for the purpose, was alreadyat work with his men removing the boarding which had hitherto concealedthe _Flying Fish_ from passers-by on the river, thus making a way forthe exit of the ship a little later on.
The little party had re-entered the hull by way of the trap-door, andthe professor had just made the fastenings once more secure, when, faraway aloft from somewhere within the recesses of the ship, they heardthe loud, sonorous, sustained note of a gong.
"Ah, that is good!" exclaimed Herr von Schalckenberg, rubbing his hands;"that is the dinner gong; and I am hungry. Come, my friends, to thedining saloon, and let us partake of the first of, I hope, many pleasantmeals on board the _Flying Fish_."