True to their appointment, young Tregarthen and Oliver Trembath met at the western end of the town of Penzance, close to the sea-beach, where a mass of buildings and a chimney indicated the position of the Wherry Mine.
Oliver’s countenance1 betrayed anxiety as he came forward.
“Nothing wrong, I hope?” said Tregarthen.
“Well, I can’t say exactly that things are wrong; but, at the same time, I don’t know that they are altogether right.”
“Much the same thing,” said Tregarthen, smiling; “come, Oliver, unbosom yourself, as novelists say. It will do you good, and two heads, you know, are better than one.”
“It’s not easy to unbosom myself, old fellow,” returned Oliver, with a troubled look; “for my poor uncle’s affairs are in a perplexed2 condition, and I hate explanations, especially when I don’t understand the nature of what I attempt to explain, so we’ll not talk about it, please, till after our visit to the mine. Let it suffice to say that that notorious smuggler3 Jim Cuttance is concerned in it, and that we must go to Newlyn this afternoon on a piece of business which I shall afterwards disclose. Meanwhile, where is this mine?”
“Lift up your eyes and behold,” said Tregarthen, pointing to an object which was surrounded by the sea, and stood above two hundred yards from the beach.
“What! that martello-tower-like object?” exclaimed Oliver in much surprise.
“Even so,” replied Tregarthen, who thereupon proceeded to give his friend a history and description of the mine—of which the following is the substance:—
At the western extremity4 of the sea-beach at Penzance there is a reef of sunken rocks which shows its black crest5 above water at low tide. It was discovered that this reef contained tin, and the people of the town attacked it with hammers and chisels6, when each receding7 tide left it exposed, as long as the seasons would permit, until the depth became unmanageable. After having been excavated8 a few fathoms9 the work was abandoned.
Fortunately for the progress of this world there exist a few enterprising men whom nothing can discourage, who seem to be spurred on by opposition10, and to gather additional vigour11 and resolution from increasing difficulties. These men are not numerous, but the world is seldom without a few of them; and one made his appearance in Penzance about the end of last century, in the person of a poor miner named Thomas Curtis. This man conceived the bold design of sinking a shaft12 through this water-covered rock, and thus creating a mine not only under, but in the sea.
With the energy peculiar13 to his class he set to work. The distance of the rock from the beach was about two hundred and forty yards; the depth of water above it at spring tides about nineteen feet. Being exposed to the open sea, a considerable surf is raised on it at times by the prevailing14 winds, even in summer; while in winter the sea bursts over with such force as to render all operations on it impossible.
That Curtis was a man of no common force of character is obvious from the fact that, apart from the difficulties of the undertaking15, he could not expect to derive16 any profit whatever from his labour for several years. As the work could only be carried on during the short period of time in which the rock was above water, and part of this brief period must necessarily be consumed each tide in pumping out the water in the excavation17, it of course progressed slowly. Three summers were consumed in sinking the pump-shaft. After this a framework, or caisson, of stout18 timber and boards, was built round the mouth of the shaft, and rendered watertight with pitch and oakum. It rose to a height of about twelve feet above the surface of the sea, and was strengthened and supported by stout bars, or buttresses19 of timber. A platform was placed on the top, and a windlass, at which four men could work, was fixed20 thereon. This erection was connected with the shore by a stage or “wherry” erected21 on piles. The water was cleared out; the men went “underground,” and, with the sea rolling over their heads, and lashing22 wildly round the turret23 which was their only safeguard from terrible and instant destruction, they hewed24 daily from the submarine rock a considerable portion of tin.
These first workers, however, had committed an error in carrying on their operations too near the surface, so that water permeated25 freely through the rock, and the risk of the pressure above being too great, for it rendered the introduction of immense supporting timbers necessary. The water, too, forced its way through the shaft during the winter months, so that the regular working of the mine could not be carried on except in summer; nevertheless, this short interval26 was sufficient to enable the projector27 to raise so much ore that his mine got the reputation of being a profitable adventure, and it was wrought28 successfully for many years.
About the end of the century the depth of the pump-shaft was about four fathoms, and the roof had been cut away to the thinness of three feet in some places. Twelve men were employed for two hours at the windlass in hauling the water, while six others were “teaming” from the bottom into the pump. When sufficient water had been cleared away the men laboured at the rock for six hours—in all, eight hours at a time. The prolific29 nature of the mine may be gathered from the fact that in the space of six months ten men, working about one tenth of that time—less than three weeks—broke about 600 pounds worth of ore. During one summer 3,000 pounds worth of tin was raised!
A steam-engine was ultimately attached to the works, and the mine was sunk to a depth of sixteen fathoms, but the expense of working it at length became so great that it was abandoned—not, however, before ore to the amount of 70,000 pounds had been raised from under the sea!
At the time of our tale another effort had been made to work the Wherry Mine, and great expectations had been raised, but these expectations were being disappointed. Our unfortunate friend Mr Donnithorne was among the number of those who had cause to regret having ventured to invest in the undertaking, and it was to make inquiries30 in regard to certain unfavourable rumours32 touching33 the mine that Oliver Trembath had been sent to Penzance.
After inspecting Wherry Mine the two friends walked along the shore together, and Oliver explained the nature of the difficulties in which his uncle was involved.
“The fact is, Charlie,” he said, “an old fish-purchaser of Newlyn named Hitchin is one of the principal shareholders34 in this concern. He is as rich, they say, as Croesus, and if we could only prevail on him to be amiable35 the thing might be carried on for some time longer with every hope of a favourable31 result, for there can be no doubt whatever that there is plenty of tin in the mine yet, and the getting of it out is only a question of time and capital.”
“A pretty serious question—as most speculators find,” said Tregarthen, laughing; “you appear to think lightly of it.”
“Well, I don’t pretend to know much about such matters,” replied Oliver, “but whatever may be the truth of the case, old Hitchin refuses to come forward. He says that he is low in funds just now, which nobody seems to believe, and that he owes an immense sum of money to Jim Cuttance, the smuggler, for what, of course, he will not tell, but we can have no difficulty in guessing. He says that Cuttance is pressing him just now, and that, therefore, he cannot afford to advance anything on the mine. This being the case it must go down, and, if it does, one of the last few gleams of prosperity that remain to my poor uncle will have fluttered away. This must be prevented, if possible, and it is with that end in view that I purpose going to Newlyn this afternoon to see Hitchin and bring my persuasive36 powers to bear on him.”
“H’m, not of much use, I fear,” said Tregarthen. “Hitchin is a tough old rascal37, with a hard heart and a miserly disposition38. However, it may be worth while to make the attempt, for you have a very oily tongue, Oliver.”
“And you have an extremely impudent39 one, Charlie. But can you tell me at what time the mackerel boats may be expected this evening, for it seems the old fellow is not often to be found at home during the day, and we shall be pretty sure to find him on the beach when the boats arrive?”
Thus appealed to, Tregarthen cast a long look at the sea and sky.
“Well, I should say, considering the state of the tide and the threatening appearance of the sky, we may expect to see them at six o’clock, or thereabouts.”
“That leaves us nearly a couple of hours to spare; how shall we spend it?” said Oliver.
“Go and have a look at this fine old town,” suggested Tregarthen. “It is worth going over, I assure you. Besides the town hall, market, museum, etcetera, there are, from many points of the surrounding eminences40, most superb views of the town and bay with our noble St. Michael’s Mount. The view from some of the heights has been said by some visitors to equal that of the far-famed Bay of Naples itself.”
“Part of this I have already seen,” said Oliver, “the rest I hope to live to see, but in the meantime tin is uppermost in my mind; so if you have no objection I should like to have a look at the tin-smelting works. What say you?”
“Agreed, by all means,” cried Tregarthen; “poor indeed would be the spirit of the Cornishman who did not feel an interest in tin!”
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1
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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smuggler
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| n.走私者 | |
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extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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chisels
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| n.凿子，錾子( chisel的名词复数 )；口凿 | |
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receding
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| v.逐渐远离( recede的现在分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题 | |
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8
excavated
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| v.挖掘( excavate的过去式和过去分词 )；开凿；挖出；发掘 | |
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fathoms
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| 英寻( fathom的名词复数 ) | |
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opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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vigour
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| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
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shaft
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| n.(工具的)柄，杆状物 | |
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13
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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prevailing
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| adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的 | |
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undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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derive
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| v.取得；导出；引申；来自；源自；出自 | |
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excavation
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| n.挖掘，发掘；被挖掘之地 | |
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buttresses
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| n.扶壁，扶垛( buttress的名词复数 )v.用扶壁支撑，加固( buttress的第三人称单数 ) | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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ERECTED
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| adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立 | |
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lashing
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| n.鞭打；痛斥；大量；许多v.鞭打( lash的现在分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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turret
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| n.塔楼，角塔 | |
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hewed
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| v.（用斧、刀等）砍、劈( hew的过去式和过去分词 )；砍成；劈出；开辟 | |
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permeated
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| 弥漫( permeate的过去式和过去分词 )； 遍布； 渗入； 渗透 | |
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interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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projector
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| n.投影机，放映机，幻灯机 | |
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wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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prolific
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| adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的 | |
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inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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rumours
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| n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传 | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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shareholders
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| n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 ) | |
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amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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persuasive
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| adj.有说服力的，能说得使人相信的 | |
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rascal
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| n.流氓；不诚实的人 | |
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disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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impudent
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| adj.鲁莽的，卑鄙的，厚颜无耻的 | |
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eminences
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| 卓越( eminence的名词复数 )； 著名； 高地； 山丘 | |
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