CHAPTER XXV
Every day after the issue of the circular the wire which connected theStorage Works with Winnipeg was kept hot with the news of what wasgoing on in the far-away civilised world, but for some time all thatwas heard in that land of unsetting suns only amounted to this:Everywhere the Press of Europe had received the pronouncement of theTrust with incredulous derision. It had, in fact, providedprofessional humourists and caricaturists with quite a new field ofindustry.
The Governments, as had been expected, took not the slightest noticeof it, and General Ducros and the French President, who alone knewwhat a terrible meaning lay in the plain business-like language of thecircular, awaited more and more anxiously as the days went by theexecution of the dread fiat of the World Masters.
The sinking of the _Vlodoya_ and the disappearance of the _Nadine_ hadconvinced the Minister for War and also the Russian Government thatthe plot to capture the controllers of the Storage Trust had failed,but they could do nothing without admitting that they knew andbelieved in the power of the Trust to do as it threatened. Moreover,they could not submit to the terms unless all the other Powers did,and they had not even deigned to notice the existence of the Trust.Meanwhile, the preparations for war went on, and on the day before theexpiration of the time given by the general ultimatum to France, theFrench troops crossed the border at Verdun, Nancy, and Mulhausen, andthe Northern Squadron, strongly reinforced, blockaded the mouth of theElbe and the Kiel Canal. The Russian Baltic Squadron, which had beengoing through its summer manoeuvres, blocked the exits from theinland seas and threatened the northern coast of Germany, while theRussian army was concentrating in enormous numbers at several pointsalong the Polish frontier.
When Austin Vandel took the dispatch containing this last news intothe department at the works which was commonly called the board-room,the president passed it to Lord Orrel and Hardress, who were having asmoke and afternoon chat with him, and said:
"Well, I reckon the Powers mean business, and so, as they haven't hadthe politeness to answer that communication of ours, I reckon it'sabout time we showed them that we mean it, too. They'll be fighting bythis time."
"I suppose so," replied Lord Orrel; "and of course it's no use waitingany longer under the circumstances."
"Not a bit," added Hardress; "in fact, as you know, my idea was tostart a fortnight ago. If we'd done that they might have found it abit difficult even to start."
"But after all, Shafto," said his father, "a fortnight matters nothingto us; and the object-lesson will be very much more striking if weallow hostilities to get into full swing, and then bring them to adead stop. Still, we will begin at once, and I propose, president,that when everything is ready your daughter shall do us the honour ofstarting the engines."
"And if that wants any seconding," added Hardress, "I'll do it."
"I reckon that'll be about the proudest moment of Chrysie's life,"laughed the president. "And seeing that our guests have pretty goodreason to take an interest in the engines, perhaps it would only bepolite to ask them to come and assist at the ceremony."
"Oh, certainly," said Lord Orrel. "There can't be any objection tothat. Shafto, suppose you go and invite them. And it wouldn't be a badidea if we had a little dinner together afterwards, just to celebratethe occasion. You might see Miss Chrysie also and request the honourof her services."
As Hardress left the room the president said to his nephew: "Austin,you can go and wire to our people here and over in England that theexperiment begins to-night. Ask them to let us have all the news theycan send, and especially to let us know whether any electricdisturbances take place in our territories; and you might ask DoctorLamson to come over for a few minutes."
From this conversation it will be seen that the momentous voyage ofthe _Nadine_ had ended without any further mishap. Davis Straitsand the Northern waters had been singularly clear of ice, and she hadbeen able to steer the whole way to Port Adelaide without difficulty.Doctor Lamson had received them in the midst of his marvellouscreation as quietly as though he had been receiving them in his ownhouse at Hampstead. They had all admired and wondered at the sombremagnificence of what was certainly the most extraordinary structure onthe face of the globe. But those who are permitted to see them havemarvelled still more at the huge engines and the maze of intricatelycomplicated apparatus which the magic of money and science had calledinto being in the midst of this desolate wilderness.
So far, the involuntary guests of the Trust had not been permitted tosee anything more than the outsides of the engine-rooms and theapartments which they occupied. They had been politely butunmistakably given to understand that, after what had happened, itwould be necessary to consider them as prisoners. They would betreated with every consideration--in fact, as guests. But at the sametime, they would be closely watched, and any attempt to communicatewith any officer or workman employed on the Works would be immediatelypunished by close confinement for all of them. For their part, theyhad accepted the strange situation with perfect philosophy, andawaited the coming of the expeditions with a great deal moreconfidence than they would have felt had they known the terriblenature of the defences with which Doctor Lamson had armed thisfortress in the wilderness.
Within an hour after the president had pronounced the fiat which wasto alter the history of the world, everything was in readiness for themaking of the Great Experiment, and, for the first time since theirarrival in Boothia, Count Valdemar, Sophie, and the marquise wereadmitted into the great engine-rooms which stood in the middle of eachside of the quadrangle. They stared in frank astonishment at thecolossal machinery, and the count said to the president as theyentered No. 1, or the Northern engine-room:
"Our aims may not be the same, but I am compelled to confess that youhave wrought a most astounding miracle in the midst of the ghastlydesert."
"It's pretty good," he replied; "but, after all, it's just the sort ofmiracle that dollars and brains can work all the time. This is not themiracle, this is only what is going to work it. The real miracle willbe what our friends in Europe see and feel. Well, now, doctor, are weready?"
"Quite," replied Lamson. "Lady Olive, you will send the signal to theother rooms? A man is stationed in each of them, and if you touch thatbutton when Miss Vandel pulls the lever you will start the other threeengines."
Miss Chrysie, looking just a trifle pale and nervous, took hold of thelever and stood ready to perform the most momentous act ever done bythe hand of woman. It had been decided to start the engines preciselyat six, and the minute hand of the engine-room clock was getting verynear the perpendicular.
"It seems a pretty awful thing to do, you know, poppa," she said,"just to pull this thing and set half the world dying."
"No; I think you are wrong there, Chrysie," said Hardress, who wasstanding beside her, and Adelaide's teeth gritted together as sheheard the name for the first time from his lips. "When you pull thatlever you will save life, not destroy it. Without us the war might goon for months or years and cost millions of lives: but ten days afteryou have pulled that lever the European war will be impossible."
"Then," said Miss Chrysie, tightening her grip on the handle, "I guessI'll pull!" At this moment the clock struck the first note of six, andat the third she drew the lever towards her.
The starting-engine gave a few short puffs and pants. Lady Olivetouched the button, and the bells tinkled in the other engine-rooms.The huge cranks of the steel giants began to revolve. The mightycylinders gasped and hissed, and the huge fly-wheels began to move, atfirst almost imperceptibly, and then faster and faster, till each wasa whirling circle of bright steel. The hiss of the steam ceased, andthe four giants settled down to their momentous work in silence, savefor a low, purring hum, which was not to cease day or night untilarmed Europe had acknowledged their all-compelling power.
"It is very wonderful, but very weird," said Adelaide to Chrysie asthey left the room, "if only it is all true. To think that you, byjust bending your arm should set those mighty
monsters to work--andsuch work! to steal the soul out of the world, to paralyse armies andfleets, perhaps to make Governments impossible--perhaps to reducecivilisation to chaos!"
"I reckon those engines will cause less chaos than your friends inEurope, marquise," she replied, shortly, but not unkindly; "but,anyhow, they should have taken poppa's terms; and if they will fight,they must pay for the luxury. Anyhow, we'd better not talk about that;it's no use getting unfriendly over subjects we can't agree upon. Whatdo you say, countess?"
"I entirely agree with you," said Sophie, frankly. "You know,Adelaide, that for prisoners of war we are being treated exceedinglywell. And for the present, at least, until our hosts are able toterminate their invitation, I think we might be as nearly friends aswe can be."
"That's so," said Miss Chrysie, heartily, yet well knowing that theywere both awaiting the moment when, as they believed, the arrival ofthe expeditions would make the present owners of the works prisonersof France and Russia, and that either of them would poison her or puta bullet through her without the slightest hesitation. "Yes; that'sso. We've got to live here together for a bit, and I reckon we may aswell do it as pleasantly as possible. And now, suppose we go todinner."
All things considered, the dinner was really a most agreeablefunction. The principal topic of conversation was, of course, theeffect which the starting of the works would produce on the NorthernHemisphere in general and the fleets and armies of Europe inparticular. International politics, too, were discussed, not only withfreedom, but with a knowledge which would have astonished many aEuropean Minister; but one subject was tabooed by mutual consent, andthat was the French and Russian Polar Expeditions, which, if they werereally making for Boothia Land, ought to arrive in about a week'stime.
The three involuntary guests knew perfectly well that their hosts wereexpecting them. Their hosts knew that they knew this, and, therefore,as a matter of politeness and mutual convenience, the words "PolarExpedition" were absolutely banished from their conversation.Meanwhile, Port Adelaide had been fast emptying for the time when thecolliers and cargo boats could get back, for the time was limited.Only the _Nadine_ and the _Washington_, a passenger boat capableof about sixteen knots, which had brought the staff up from Halifax,were kept, in addition to a couple of steam launches and a powerfultug sheathed and fitted as an icebreaker.
The _Nadine_ and the _Washington_ constantly patrolled the coast fortwenty miles in each direction, on the lookout for the expeditions.Around and inside the works life went on as quietly as though nothingout of the common was happening. The unsetting sun rose and dippedon the southern horizon, and the great engines purred unceasingly,working out the dream of the man whose mangled body lay in a namelessgrave on an alien soil.
They had been working for six days when Europe awoke to an uneasysuspicion that, after all, there must have been something in thatpreposterous circular which the Electrical Power and Storage Trust, ofBuffalo, N.Y., had sent out some five weeks before.
On the evening of the fifth day after Miss Chrysie had pulled thelever over in No. 1 engine-room a series of unaccountable accidentshappened in the engine-rooms of the French Northern Squadron, whichwas blockading the mouth of the Elbe. Do what they would, theengineers could not keep the engines working smoothly. Littleaccidents kept on happening with such frequency that the efforts ofthe whole staff could scarcely keep the engines in working order; andabout the same time the officers on the bridges, noticed that thecompasses were beginning to behave in a most extraordinary fashion.Even when the ships were quite stationary, they wavered two or threedegrees on either side of north, and as the night wore on thevariation increased.
The next morning there happened what, up to then, was the strangestincident in warfare. The _Charles Martel_, one of the most powerfulironclads in the French fleet, was cruising under easy steam, just outof range of the heavy guns on the canal forts, when the admiralcommanding the squadron, who was on the bridge, heard a muffledgrinding noise, and felt a shudder run through the vast fabric. Thenext moment an officer came up from the lower deck, saluted, andgasped:
"Admiral, the port shaft has broken, and we are only going quarterspeed!"
He had hardly got the last words out of his mouth before there wasanother grinding shock, and a dull rattle away down in the vitals ofthe ship.
"Ah, there is something more!" cried the officer. "They tell me thatthe engines have been mad all night."
"Go and see what it is," said the admiral; "we must put out to seawith one engine." At that moment the chief engineer came up, lookingwhite and scared, and said, in a low, shaking voice:
"Monsieur, the crank shaft of the starboard engine has splintered asthough it had been made of glass. We are disabled!"
"Nom de Dieu!" exclaimed the admiral. "What is that yousay?--disabled? and the tide setting in. Then we are lost. A fewminutes will take us within range of the guns on the Canal and atCuxhaven, and in an hour we may be ashore. There is no hope ofrepairs, I suppose?"
"Impossible, Monsieur l'Amiral. It would take weeks in the bestdockyard in France to repair the damage."
"Then," said the admiral, turning to the commander, who was standingbeside him, "we must do what we can. We will not be lost for nothing.Let everything be ready to return the fire of the forts as soon as weare within range."
By this time the German officers on the forts had noted withamazement, not unmixed with satisfaction, that some unaccountableaccident had happened to the great French battleship. She was notunder steam, she was not steering, she was simply drifting in with thetide as helplessly as a barrel. The tide was setting dead in towardsthe mouth of the Canal, and the commander of the great fort atBrunsbuettel, making certain of her surrender or destruction, orderedthree of his heaviest guns, monsters capable of throwing anine-hundred-pound shell to a distance of nearly fourteen miles, toprepare for action. They were mounted on disappearing carriages workedby hydraulic machinery.
The guns were already loaded, the mechanism was set in motion, and thegiants rose slowly till their muzzles grinned over the glacis of thefort. Then, without any warning, the framework of one of the carriagescracked and splintered in all directions, the huge gun came back witha terrific crash on to the concrete floor of the emplacement, and, tothe amazement of officers and gunners, broke into three pieces as ifit had been made of glass instead of the finest steel that Krupp couldproduce.
Officers and men stared at each other in silent amazement. Were eventhe guns and their machinery affected by this strange languor whichhad been afflicting both men and animals for the last day or two?Instinctively they drew away from the other gun; but the _CharlesMartel_ was now well within range, and Colonel Von Altenau saw thatit was his duty not to allow her to come any closer. In fact, he wasalmost surprised to see that she had not already opened fire upon thefort, so he ordered the centre gun to be trained on her and fired.
As the lanyard was pulled, those on board the battleship saw a vividburst of flame, and the roar of an explosion came dully across thewater, but no shell followed it. The admiral immediately came to theconclusion that some accident had happened in the fort, and he orderedhis two forward 13-inch guns to send a couple of shells into it. Hewent into the conning-tower, and as soon as he received the signalthat the guns were ready and laid, he pressed the electric buttonwhich should have sent the sparks through the charges. Nothinghappened, and the guns remained silent.
Then he called down the speaking-tube connecting the conning-towerwith the barbette:
"The wire does not act. Let the guns be fired by hand."
He was obeyed, and the next moment the blast of a frightful explosionshook the whole fabric of the ship. Barbette and guns disappeared in ablinding blaze of flame. The solid steel crumbled to dust, the deckscracked like starred glass in all directions, and some forty bravefellows were blown over the edge of eternity without even knowing whathad happened to them. Both guns had burst into thousands of fragments,just as the great German gun in the fort had done, killing
every manwithin twenty yards of it. The guns had, in fact, behaved much as thatlittle square of steel had done when Doctor Emil Fargeau hit it with awooden mallet.
Thus the first shots of the war had resulted only in the slaying ofthose who had fired them. As the helpless _Charles Martel_ driftedslowly towards the other forts, they attempted to open fire on her,but after two more big guns had blown themselves to atoms, and killedor maimed a hundred men, she was allowed to drift on until she found aresting-place on the Elbe mud.
On the other ships of the French Squadron disaster after disaster hadbeen happening meanwhile. Engine after engine broke down, electricsignals, as well as the electrical ammunition lifts, ceased to work.The compass cards swung about as aimlessly as though there was no suchthing as a Magnetic Pole in existence, and as ship after ship becamedisabled with broken shafts, cracked cylinders, or splinteredpiston-rods, a score of the finest warships that France had ever putto sea drifted helplessly up with the tide under the eyes of an enemythat could not fire a shot at them.
The commander-in-chief of the Brunsbuettel station telegraphed to hiscolleague at Kiel to report the unaccountable disaster, but no answerwas received. The message was repeated, and a lieutenant came in a fewminutes later, clicked his heels together, and said:
"Herr Commandant, it is impossible to communicate with Kiel, theinstruments have ceased to work. I have telephoned as well, but thewires are dead."
"But it is ridiculous--unaccountable!" exclaimed the commandant. "Wemust communicate. Have an engine made ready at once, Lieutenant, andgo yourself. I will send a letter."
The lieutenant found a locomotive with steam up. He took thecommandant's letter and started. Within fifty yards the engine brokedown as completely as the machinery of the _Charles Martel_ had done.
The World Masters Page 26