Thus happily and smoothly1 all things went, with little bursts of anxiety and little touches of alarm, just sufficient, as it were, to keep up the spirits of all, till the morning of the 30th July. But on that morning an appearance of excitement in the testing-room told that something had again gone wrong. Soon the order was given to slow the engines, then to stop them!
The bursting of a thunder-clap, the explosion of a powder-magazine, could not have more effectually awakened2 the slumberers than this abrupt3 stoppage of the ship’s engines. Instantly all the hatchways poured forth4 anxious inquirers.
“Another fault,” was the reply to such.
“O dear!” said some.
“Horrible!” said others.
“Not so bad as a break,” sighed the hopeful spirits.
“It is bad enough,” said the chief electrician, “for we have found dead earth.”
By this the chief meant to say that insulation5 had been completely destroyed, and that the whole current of electricity was escaping into the sea.
About 716 miles had been payed out at the time, and as signals had till then been regularly received from the shore, it was naturally concluded that the fault lay near to the ship.
“Now then, get along,” said an engineer to one of the cable-men; “you’ll have to cut, and splice6, and test, while we are getting ready the tackle to pick up.”
“I don’t like that cuttin’ o’ the cable, Bill,” said one of the sailors, as he went forward, “it seems dangerous, it do.”
“Why, bless you, boys,” said a cable-man near them, “cables is used to that now, like eels8 to bein’ skinned; and so are we, for that matter. We think nothin’ of it.”
Clearly the cable-man was right, for, while the picking-up apparatus9 was being got ready, the cable was cut in no fewer than three places, in order to test the coils that lay in the tanks. These being found all right, the picking-up was begun with anxious care. The moment of greatest danger was when the big ship was swinging round. For a few but apparently10 endless moments the cable had to bear the strain, and became rigid11 like a bar of steel. Then it was got in over the bows, where all was bustle12, and noise, and smoke, as the picking-up machinery13 panted and rattled14.
All day the work went on. Night descended16, but still the cable was coming in slowly, unwillingly,—now jerkily, as if half inclined to yield, anon painfully, as if changing its mind, until the strain was equal to two and a half tons. A row of lanterns lighted it, and the men employed watched and handled it carefully to detect the “fault,” while the clattering17 wheels played harsh music.
As if to rebuke19 him for his want of faith, the “fault” came in then and there—at 9:50 p.m., ship’s time.
“Ah!” said Mr Field, whose chief characteristic was an unwavering faith in ultimate success, “I knew we should find it are long. I have often known cables to stop working for two hours, no one knew why, and then begin again.”
“Well now, Mr Wright, it floors me altogether, does this here talkin’ by electricity.”
The man who made this remark to our hero was one who could not have been easily “floored” by any other means than electricity. He was a huge blacksmith—a stalwart fellow who had just been heaving the sledge20-hammer with the seeming powers of Vulcan himself, and who chanced to be near Robin21 when he paused to rest and mop the streaming perspiration23 from his brow, while a well-matched brother took his place at the anvil24.
“You see,” he continued, “I can’t make out nohow what the electricity does when it gits through the cable from Ireland to Noofun’land. Of course it don’t actooally speak, you know—no more does it whistle, I suppose; an’ even if it did I don’t see as we’d be much the wiser. What do it do, Mr Wright? You seem to be well up in these matters, an’ not above explainin’ of ’em to the likes o’ us as ha’n’t got much edication.”
Few things pleased Robin more than being asked to impart what knowledge he possessed25, or to make plain subjects that were slightly complex. He was not always successful in his attempts at elucidation26, partly because some subjects were too complex to simplify, and partly because some intellects were obtuse27, but he never failed to try.
“You must know,” he replied, with that earnest look which was apt to overspread his face when about to explain a difficulty, “that a piece of common iron can be converted into a magnet by electrifying28 it, and it can be unconverted just as fast by removing the electricity. Well, suppose I have a bit of iron in America, with an electric battery in Ireland, or vice29 versa—”
“W’ot’s wicey wersa, Mr Wright?”
“Oh, it means the terms being changed—turned the other way, you know—back to the front, as it were—in short, I mean the battery being in America and the bit of iron in Ireland.”
“Well, well, who’d a thought there was so much in wicey wersa; but go on, Mr Wright.”
“Now, you must suppose,” continued Robin, “that a needle, like the mariner’s compass needle, hangs beside my bit of iron, close to it, and that a wire, or conductor of electricity, connects the iron with my electric battery in Ireland. Well, that makes a magnet of it, and the suspended needle, being attracted, sticks to it. Then I disconnect the wire from my battery by touching30 a handle, the bit of iron ceases to be a magnet, and the needle was free. Again I connect the battery, and the needle flies to the remagnetised bit of iron. Thus, as fast as I choose, I can make the needle wag, and by a simple arrangement we can make it wag right or left, so many beats right or left, or alternately, representing letters. By varying the beats we vary the letters, and thus spell out our messages. Now, do you understand it?”
“I ain’t quite sure that I does,” replied Vulcan; “I’ve got a hazy31 notion that by touchin’ and removin’ the touch from a conductor, connecting and disconnecting wires and batteries, you can make electricity flow just as you let on or stop water by turnin’ a stopcock—”
“Not exactly,” interrupted Robin, “because, you see, electricity does not really flow, not being a substance.”
“Not a substance, sir! w’y, w’ot is it then?”
“Like light and sound, it is merely an effect, an influence, a result,” answered Robin. “We only use the word flow, and talk of electricity as a fluid, for convenience’ sake.”
“Well, w’otever it is or isn’t,” continued the puzzled Vulcan, gazing at vacancy33 for a few seconds, “when you’ve set it agoin’—or set agoin’ the things as sets it agoin’—you make a suspended needle wag, and when you stop it you make the needle stop waggin’, and by the way in which that there needle wags you can spell out the letters o’ the alphabit—so many wags to the right bein’ one letter, so many wags to the left bein’ another letter, an’ so on,—so that, what between the number o’ wags an’ the direction o’ the waggin’s, you—you come for to—there, I’m lost again, an’ I must go in for another spell wi’ the sledge, so we’ll have to tackle the subject another time, Mr Wright.”
Thus speaking, Vulcan seized the ponderous34 hammer in his powerful grasp and proceeded to beat form into a mass of glowing metal with much greater ease than he had been able to thump35 telegraphy into his own brain.
In the discovery of the “fault” and the cutting out of the injured part of the cable, twenty-six hours were lost. During all the time Captain Anderson was obliged to remain on deck, while the minds and bodies of the engineers and electricians were subjected to a severe strain for the same period. They had scarcely begun to breathe freely again, and to congratulate each other on being able to continue the voyage, when they received another shock of alarm by the cable suddenly flying off the drum, while it was being transferred from the picking-up machinery in the bow to the paying-out arrangements in the stern. Before the machinery could be stopped, some fathoms36 of cable had become entangled37 among the wheels and destroyed. This part having been cut out, however, and new splices38 made, the paying-out process was resumed.
“I’ll turn in now and have a snooze, Robin,” said Ebenezer Smith, “and you had better do the same; you look tired.”
This was indeed true, for not a man or boy in the ship took a more anxious interest in the cable than did our little hero; he had begun to regard it as a living creature, and to watch over it, and dream about it, as if it were a dear friend in extreme danger. The enthusiastic boy was actually becoming careworn40 and thin, for he not only performed all the duties required of him with zealous41 application, but spent his leisure, and much of the time that should have been devoted42 to rest, in the careful study of his idol—intensely watching it, and all that was in the remotest way connected with it.
“You’re a goose,” said Stumps43, in passing, when he heard Robin decline to retire as Smith had advised him.
“It may be so, and if so, Stumps, I shall continue to cackle a little longer on deck while they are examining the fault.”
That examination, when finished, produced a considerable sensation. The process was conducted in private. The condemned44 portion was cut in junks and tested, until the faulty junk was discovered. This was untwisted until the core was laid bare, and when about a foot of it had been so treated, the cause of evil was discovered, drawing from the onlookers45 an exclamation46 of horror rather than surprise, as they stood aghast, for treachery seemed to have been at work!
“An enemy in the ship!” murmured one.
“What ship without an enemy?” thought another.
That mischief47 had been intended was obvious, for a piece of iron wire, bright as if cut with nippers at one end and broken off short at the other, had been driven right through the centre of the cable, so as to touch the inner wires—thus forming a leak, or conductor, into the sea. There could be no doubt that it had not got there by accident; neither had it been driven there during the making or shipping48 of the cable, for in that case the testings for continuity would have betrayed its presence before the starting of the expedition. The piece of wire, too, was the same size as that which formed the protecting cover, and it was of the exact diameter of the cable. There was also the mark of a cut on the Manilla hemp49, where the wire had entered. It could have been done only by one of the men who were at work in the tank at the time the portion went over, and, strange to say, this was the same gang which had been at work there when the previous “fault” occurred.
“Call all the men aft,” was the order that quickly followed this discovery.
The piece of cable was handed to them, and they were allowed to examine it in silence. They did so in great surprise, mingled50 with indignation.
“You’re right, Joe,” said another.
“I knows,” whispered a third, “that one of the men expressed satisfaction when the last fault occurred, an’ I’ve heard say that we’ve got enemies to the makers52 o’ the cable aboard.”
The man thus darkly referred to, whoever he was, of course looked as innocent and as indignant as the most virtuous53 among them; the guilt54, therefore, could not be brought home to him. Woe55 betide him if it had been, for there was a serious talk of lynching some one among the wrathful men, each of whom was now subject to suspicion.
In these trying circumstances, the chief engineer accepted an offer made by the gentlemen in the ship, to take turn about in superintending the men at work in the tank paying-out the cable.
“It’s not pleasant, of course,” replied one of the men, speaking for the rest, “but we feel it to be justifiable56, as well as necessary, and are very glad the plan has been adopted.”
Once more the big ship went merrily on her way, and the great cable went down to its ocean-bed so smoothly and regularly, that men began to talk of speedy arrival at Heart’s Content—their destination in Newfoundland—which was now only about 600 miles distant; but their greatest troubles still lay before them. About eight o’clock in the morning of 2nd August another bad fault was reported, and they had once again to resort to the wearisome process of picking-up.
At first all seemed about to go well. A gale57 was indeed blowing at the time, but that did not much affect the colossal58 ship. The cable was cut, fastened to its iron rope, passed to the bow, and got in over the pulleys. Then, and very slowly, it was drawn59 on board. When a mile or so had been recovered, the gearing of one of the engines got a little out of order, and the process had to be temporarily stopped; then something went wrong with the boilers60, but soon these difficulties were removed. Immediately after, the Great Eastern drifted, so that it was impossible to prevent the cable from chafing61 against her bows. Equally impossible was it to go astern, lest the strain should be too great. Then the wind suddenly shifted, making matters worse. Suddenly the chain shackle62 and wire-rope attached to the cable came in over the wheel at the bows with considerable violence. Another moment and the cable parted, flew through the stoppers, and, with one bound, flashed into the sea and disappeared!
Now, at last, the fatal climax63 so much dreaded64 had arrived. The days and nights of anxious labour had been spent in vain. The cable was lost, and with it went not only hundreds of thousands of pounds, but the hopes of hundreds of thousands of people, whose sanguine65 expectations of success were thus rudely dispelled66.
Need it be said that something very like despair reigned67 for the moment on board the Great Eastern?
Most of the gentlemen on board—never dreaming of catastrophe—were at luncheon68, when Mr Canning entered the saloon with a look that caused every one to start.
“It is all over!—it is gone!” he said, and hastened to his cabin.
Mr Field, with the composure of faith and courage, though very pale, entered the saloon immediately after, and confirmed the chief engineer’s statement.
“The cable has parted,” he said, “and has gone overboard.”
From the chiefs down even to Stumps and his fraternity all was blank dismay! As for our hero Robin Wright, he retired69 to his cabin, flung himself on his bed, and sobbed70 as though his heart would break.
But such a state of things could not last. Men’s spirits may be stunned71 and crushed, but they are seldom utterly72 overwhelmed so long as life endures.
Recovering from the shock, Mr Canning set about the process of grappling for the lost cable with persistent73 energy. But fishing in water two and a half miles deep is no easy matter. Nevertheless, it was done. Again and again, and over again, were two monster hooks in the shape of grapnels let down to the bottom of the sea, with an iron rope for a line, and the Great Eastern for a float!
The plan, of course, was to go back a few miles on their course and then drag across the known position of the lost treasure.
We say known, because good observations had fortunately been obtained by Captain Anderson just before the accident.
Two hours did the grapnels descend15 before they reached the bottom of the sea! All night did the cable-layers fish, with the characteristic patience of fishermen, but did not get a nibble74. Towards morning, however, there was a decided75 bite, and the line became taut76.
“Got him!” exclaimed an enthusiast39 eagerly.
“Don’t be too sure,” replied a philosopher cautiously.
“It may be a bit of wreck,” suggested Ebenezer Smith, who was a natural doubter.
“Or a whale, or the great sea-serpent,” said the sporting electrician, who was everything by turns and nothing long.
“We shall very soon know,” remarked a matter-of-fact engineer. “If it is a loose object the strain will decrease as it nears the surface, but if it be the cable the strain will certainly increase, because its weight will be greater the more of it we lift off the bottom.”
Earnestly did every one regard the dynamometer which told the exact amount of strain on the iron fishing-line, and to their joy the strain increased until the object caught had been raised three-quarters of a mile from the bottom. Then a swivel gave way, and the cable went back to its ocean-bed.
But those plucky77 engineers were not to be overcome by a first failure. Having started with five miles of fishing-line, they proceed at once to make a second attempt.
“Oh, I do hope they will hook it again!” said Robin Wright.
“And so they will,” said Ebenezer Smith.
And so they did. Late in the afternoon of the Monday following, their fish was again hooked and raised a full mile from the bottom, when another swivel gave way, and down it went a second time!
The fishing-line was now getting short. It behoved them to act with more caution. New bolts were put in each shackle and swivel, and the capstan was increased in diameter, being belted with thick plates of iron. To effect these alterations78 the forges had to be erected79 on deck, and at night these cast a lurid80 glare on the busy workers, bringing out every near object in vivid relief against the ebony background of space behind, while they made preparations for a third cast of the fishing-line. The cast was made successfully, it was thought, but one of the grapnels had caught the line with one of its flukes, so that it could not catch anything else, and the result was—nothing.
A fourth attempt was then made. It was to be the last. The fishing-line seemed too weak, and its frequent breakings had reduced it so much that other chains had to be attached to it. With this thing of shreds81 and patches the cable was once more hooked and brought up nearly eight hundred fathoms, when the line gave way once more, and the cable went down for the last time.
Nothing more could be done. The Great Eastern turned her large bows to the east and steered82 grandly though sadly, away for old England.
But don’t imagine, good reader, that these cable-layers were beaten. They were baffled, indeed, for that year (1865), but not conquered. Cyrus Field had resolved that the thing should be done—and done it was the following year; for the laying of the cable had been so nearly a success, that great capitalists, such as Brassey, Gooch, Barclay, Campbell, Pender, and others, at once came forward. Among these were the contractors83, Glass and Elliot, who agreed not only to make and lay a new cable, but to pick up and complete the old one. Cyrus Field himself, besides energising like Hercules to push the matter on, was one of ten subscribers who each contributed 10,000 pounds. Thus 230,500 pounds were privately84 subscribed85 before a prospectus86 was issued.
Our little hero was at the laying of that (1866) cable, when the same great ship, with the same captain and most of the engineers and electricians who had gone out on the previous voyage, landed the end of the 1820-mile rope on the shores of Newfoundland, on Friday, 27th July. He cheered with the rest in wild enthusiasm when the Great Eastern dropped anchor in “Heart’s Content.” He accompanied Captain Anderson and the officers of the fleet when they went in a body to the little church there, to thank God for the successful completion of the great enterprise. He was present when the big ship, having received from other ships 8000 tons of coal, and some six hundred miles of the old cable, went back to mid-ocean to grapple for the lost cable of 1865. He assisted and watched with the deepest interest the amazing efforts of scientific and mechanical power put forth in the mere32 matter of dragging for the cable from the bottom, and observed with reverence87, amounting almost to awe88, the great moving spirit of the whole affair, the indomitable Mr Field, as he went to the bow and sat on the rope to feel the quiver which told him it was dragging the bottom of the sea two miles below. He was present, with blazing cheeks and eyes and bated breath, when, on the 17th of August, the cable was caught, dragged to the surface, and actually seen, and broke and sank again as deep as ever—though not so deep as the hearts of those who saw it go! He shared in the weary delays that followed, and in the final triumph when the cable was fairly caught and at last brought on board, and carried to the testing-room, amid intense excitement, lest it should prove to have been damaged by its rough treatment; and his voice helped to swell89 the roar of enthusiastic cheering that greeted the announcement that the old cable was still alive!
But all this we must leave, and carry the reader back to old England faster than the Great Eastern could have rushed—ay, faster than the message on the flashing cable itself could have sped, for mind is more subtle than matter, and thought is swifter than even the Atlantic Telegraph.
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smoothly
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| adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地 | |
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awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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abrupt
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| adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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insulation
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| n.隔离；绝缘；隔热 | |
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splice
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| v.接合，衔接；n.胶接处，粘接处 | |
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spliced
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| adj.（针织品）加固的n.叠接v.绞接( splice的过去式和过去分词 )；捻接（两段绳子）；胶接；粘接（胶片、磁带等） | |
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eels
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| abbr. 电子发射器定位系统（=electronic emitter location system） | |
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apparatus
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| n.装置，器械；器具，设备 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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bustle
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| v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹 | |
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machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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clattering
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| 发出咔哒声（clatter的现在分词形式） | |
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growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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rebuke
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| v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise | |
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sledge
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| n.雪橇，大锤；v.用雪橇搬运，坐雪橇往 | |
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robin
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| n.知更鸟，红襟鸟 | |
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bin
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| n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件 | |
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perspiration
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| n.汗水；出汗 | |
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anvil
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| n.铁钻 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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elucidation
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| n.说明，阐明 | |
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obtuse
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| adj.钝的；愚钝的 | |
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electrifying
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| v.使电气化( electrify的现在分词 )；使兴奋 | |
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vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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hazy
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| adj.有薄雾的，朦胧的；不肯定的，模糊的 | |
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mere
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vacancy
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ponderous
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| adj.沉重的，笨重的，(文章)冗长的 | |
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thump
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| v.重击，砰然地响；n.重击，重击声 | |
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fathoms
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| 英寻( fathom的名词复数 ) | |
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entangled
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| adj.卷入的；陷入的；被缠住的；缠在一起的v.使某人（某物/自己）缠绕，纠缠于（某物中），使某人（自己）陷入（困难或复杂的环境中）( entangle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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splices
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| v.绞接( splice的第三人称单数 )；捻接（两段绳子）；胶接；粘接（胶片、磁带等） | |
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enthusiast
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| n.热心人，热衷者 | |
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careworn
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| adj.疲倦的，饱经忧患的 | |
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zealous
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| adj.狂热的，热心的 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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stumps
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| （被砍下的树的）树桩( stump的名词复数 )； 残肢； （板球三柱门的）柱； 残余部分 | |
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condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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onlookers
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| n.旁观者，观看者( onlooker的名词复数 ) | |
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exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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shipping
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| n.船运（发货，运输，乘船） | |
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hemp
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| n.大麻；纤维 | |
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50
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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skilful
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| (=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的 | |
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makers
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| n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式） | |
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virtuous
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| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
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guilt
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| n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责 | |
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woe
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| n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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justifiable
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| adj.有理由的，无可非议的 | |
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gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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colossal
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| adj.异常的，庞大的 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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boilers
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| 锅炉，烧水器，水壶( boiler的名词复数 ) | |
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chafing
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| n.皮肤发炎v.擦热（尤指皮肤）( chafe的现在分词 )；擦痛；发怒；惹怒 | |
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shackle
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| n.桎梏，束缚物；v.加桎梏，加枷锁，束缚 | |
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climax
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| n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点 | |
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dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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sanguine
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| adj.充满希望的，乐观的，血红色的 | |
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dispelled
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| v.驱散，赶跑( dispel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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luncheon
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| n.午宴，午餐，便宴 | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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sobbed
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| 哭泣，啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 )； 哭诉，呜咽地说 | |
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stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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persistent
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| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
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nibble
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| n.轻咬，啃；v.一点点地咬，慢慢啃，吹毛求疵 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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taut
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| adj.拉紧的，绷紧的，紧张的 | |
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plucky
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| adj.勇敢的 | |
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alterations
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| n.改动( alteration的名词复数 )；更改；变化；改变 | |
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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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lurid
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| adj.可怕的；血红的；苍白的 | |
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shreds
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| v.撕碎，切碎( shred的第三人称单数 )；用撕毁机撕毁（文件） | |
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steered
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| v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵；控制；引导 | |
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contractors
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| n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 ) | |
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privately
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| adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地 | |
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subscribed
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| v.捐助( subscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；签署，题词；订阅；同意 | |
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prospectus
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| n.计划书；说明书；慕股书 | |
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reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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