CHAPTER X
After supper, and when settled back once again in the cushions of theirsleeper, Cobb immediately resumed the conversation about the pneumaticroads.
"They must be very rich and powerful corporations, these which own suchlines as this?"
"No," returned Rawolle; "for they are not owned by individuals, but bythe government. All railroads in the United States are in the hands ofthe government, and are operated with a view to just covering expenses."
"Are the rates of passage high?"
"We do not consider them so. There is one fixed rate throughout thecountry of one cent per mile."
"But," musingly inquired Cobb, "is not there a difference in operatingthe roads? Are not some more expensive to the government than others?"
"Certainly," answered Rawolle. "But, like postage on letters, auniversal rate is found to be the best; the larger and more patronizedroads paying the losses incurred by the smaller and country routes."
"I presume," said Cobb, "that there can be but few changes in thegeneral management, supervision, etc., of the roads from those invogue in my time?"
"There you make a mistake," quickly returned the other; "for, havingbeen connected with the pneumatic lines, I am well posted in what isdone to-day and what was the manner of operating railroads during thefirst part of the twentieth century. Nearly every detail of to-day'smanagement differs from that in vogue a hundred years ago. It wouldtire you for me to go into details. A few facts, though, I will giveyou: All freight is of two classes, and is sent at so much per poundper mile. At the sending point it is stamped similarly to a letter,showing date, place of shipment, destination, etc. The same rule isfollowed in regard to baggage of individuals, the owner having aduplicate of the stamp placed upon his baggage. There are no ticketsshown or taken up on the pneumatic lines, but the names of passengersto depart from the train at intermediate points are telegraphed ahead,and the persons are looked after by the inspectors. On all lines thetracks are double, trains passing but one way on each line of rail.There are no whistles or bells to the locomotives of the service lines;no tender with its coal and water; no cab in the rear for the engineer;no furnace and fireman. The locomotive is an electric one, with theengineer in a cab in front. In place of the huge boilers is an ironand steel tank containing the storage batteries. The whole weight isnearer the rail, thus bringing down the center of gravity and reducingthe danger from oscillation."
As Rawolle was thus enlightening Cobb about the innovations made inthe last century, the sleeper door opened, and a trainman entered andwalked direct to their section and asked for Mr. Rawolle, saying he hada telegram for him, at the same time handing out the envelope.
Rawolle took it and thanked the man, who then left the car.
"He hit the right man squarely that time!" surprisedly exclaimed Cobb."They seem to know you here."
"Not at all," replied Rawolle, smiling, while he tore open theenvelope. "Every person on the train is known by name, and section, andcar. Such is the system."
He opened and read the telegram.
"There!" he exclaimed, after a moment, extending the telegram to Cobb."There is an order from the Secretary of State to stop at the CentralSea." And he and Lyman looked quizzingly at their companion, as heslowly took the telegram and read:
"WASHINGTON, 16, 18 D.
"_Albert Rawolle, on Central Pneumatic No. 3, east:_
"Telegram received. Stop at Cairo. Submarine boat Tracer ordered there to take you and Cobb through Central Sea.
"By order Secretary State. "HARRY G. COLLINS, _Chief Clerk_."
Cobb read it through twice ere he ventured any remark; then, handing itback while a troubled look overspread his countenance, he said:
"Cairo is in Illinois, at the junction of the Ohio with the Mississippi;but I fail to comprehend the import of the words 'Central Sea.' Thesubmarine boat spoken of does not surprise me, for I would naturallyexpect that that which was almost an accomplished fact in 1887, wouldbe an actual success at this late date."
"There is no Ohio River, or not as was in your time. The Ohio is nowbut a small stream flowing into the Central Sea," replied Rawolle.
"Again those words 'Central Sea;' what does it mean? Is there an inlandsea?" and Cobb looked inquiringly at both of the others.
"There is," slowly spoke Rawolle.
"And a mighty big one, too," put in Lyman.
Cobb was highly educated and of a sanguine temperament; he neitherdoubted what seemed impossible, nor did he believe until the facts wereclearly before his mind. He was perfectly cognizant of the physicalgeography of the United States, and did not understand under whatconditions a great inland sea could have been formed, or maintained.
Settling himself back in his seat and breaking the circuit of theelectric light to lessen the glare in their faces, Rawolle continued:
"I will give you some facts concerning this sea, for, now that you areone of a new generation, you have much to learn, and we cannot passthe hours between now and bed-time to better advantage. On the last dayof August, 1916," he began, "at about 14 dial, or as they then said,2 P. M., that which was taken, at the time, as the shock of a greatearthquake, was felt by thousands of persons throughout the centralportion of the United States. In less than two hours later, the nationwas informed of the true nature of the shocks which followed each otherin rapid succession. It was the explosion of natural gases deep downin the strata of the earth's crust, and the scene of the disturbancescovered a vast area of territory. During the following week the shakingand trembling of the earth caused great destruction in many cities andtowns not otherwise affected. Houses fell, the water supply failed,and other serious results were experienced. But throughout portionsof the area now covered by the Central Sea, the scene was terrible,awe-inspiring, horrible. The earth heaved and sank; huge cracksopened, and flames hundreds of feet high shot into the air; thunderand lightning added to the horrors of the situation. The bursting ofthe earth's crust was attended by an appalling roar and crash, as if amillion peals of thunder had combined in one grand effort to terrifymankind; then came a pall of dense, black smoke that wrapped the landin darkness. Consternation seized upon the people, and well it might,for when the full import of the disturbances was known, it was onlythen ascertained that a great cataclysm had befallen the nation.Without going too much into details, for you can later on gain a fullknowledge of this great physical disturbance from the books publishedsoon after its occurrence, I will explain but a few of the factscausing it. You are aware, Mr. Cobb, to what extent natural gas wasused in the United States in 1887; that there were thousands of wellspouring out millions of cubic feet daily; that many of them showedpressure of from ten to twenty atmospheres. From the time you left theworld, as it were, until August, 1916, gas wells were being sunk allover the country drained by the Ohio and its tributaries. Their numberwas way up in the thousands. Billions of cubic feet of natural gaswere being consumed or flowing to waste daily. Pittsburgh alone used300,000,000 cubic feet a day in its vast manufactories. The earth inthe Ohio basin was honey-combed with the gas pockets and strata, andgas veins were struck in which the gas was under such pressure that theflow could not be checked by human hands. It was 14 dial, as I havesaid, on the last day of August, 1916, and the workmen in the largefoundry of Dillenback & Co., at Lakeside, on the Ohio, some fifty milesbelow Pittsburgh, were tapping a huge melting of aluminum bronze forthe purpose of casting the outer shell of one of the latest model gunsof that period. But let me first describe the interior arrangementsof the foundry, that you may fully grasp the situation as it thenstood, and the cause of the results which followed. Natural gas was,and had been for a long time, the fuel used in these works. Up to 1914the gas boring of Lakeside had furnished all the gas required. Thiswell was of ten-inch bore, and reached a depth of 4,737 feet, but inthe year mentioned the well had failed to furnish gas at any pressure.The standard pipe had been moved and an iron plate set over the mouthof the tube, on a level with the floor.
Five hundred feet from thiswell a boring to 4,016 feet had struck a new stratum, giving vastquantities of gas at a pressure of five atmospheres. To revert back:Just as the tapping of the furnaces was made, the steam boiler of thecrane engine, through some unaccountable cause, burst. The concussionshook the buildings, tore up the ground, displaced the iron plateover the disused gas well, and broke the aluminum furnaces, lettingover one hundred tons of molten metal flow rapidly across the foundryfloor. Recovering from the first shock and fright of the explosion, allefforts were at once made to arrest the flow of the liquid stream, orto divert its course away from the old well. That well, as all knew,still contained gas intermingled with common air, the mixture beingof a very explosive nature. All perceived at a glance what would bethe consequences if such a mass of molten metal should precipitateitself into the old well and fall over 4,500 feet into the interiorof the earth's crust; the shock at bottom, the continuance of heat,the explosive medium through which it would pass, all were dangers tobe dreaded. The gas strata were overlaid and underlaid by water andair strata; the breaking of one into another would cause a comminglingof their constituent parts, and form explosive compounds of the mostdangerous types. Human efforts failed to stem the fiery stream in itsonward course across the foundry floor. With a bounding, hissing, and,as it were, victorious cry, the river of melted aluminum approached,reached and went plunging down into the old supply-pipe. Who coulddescribe the terrible effect! Of all those hundreds of human beingsemployed in Dillenback's works, but two lived to tell the story of thecatastrophe. These two men knew only one thing: that the earth seemedto shake to its very center, and they were hurled down among the debrisof the fallen buildings, while sheets of fire almost scorched theirvery souls. Peal upon peal of thunder reverberated about them, and thendarkness buried everything from their vision. Burned, bleeding, andnearly dead, these two men found themselves pinned down by the timbersof the works. Fire was upon every side; the timbers were burning, theheat was oppressive, and from a horrible death no man could save them.There was a higher Power, though, who had ordained that these two menshould be witnesses of the full effects of this mighty effort of natureto overcome the grasping endeavors of man to accumulate wealth at theexpense of reason. A sudden rush of waters from beneath them cooledtheir parching bodies, extinguished the fires about them, raised themass of timbers which pinned them down, and gave them their liberty.You can read of this escape, as it is fully chronicled. This was thecause; now the effects. Are you tired?" seeing Cobb so quiet; "or wouldyou like a drink of something to warm the inner man?"
Cobb had sat with scarcely a movement, save the heaving of his chest,as he listened to this terrible narrative. The last words of Rawolleseemed to awaken him.
"No, and yes," he slowly replied. "Let us take a glass of wine andretire. I wish to think this over before you finish. My head aches, andI need rest."
A few minutes later, all was quiet in the first sleeper of the CentralPneumatic No. 3, east.
It was 2:25 dial, or 25 minutes past 2, the next morning, when theCentral Pneumatic arrived at Cairo.
Here Rawolle's party was met at the train by an officer from thegovernment submarine boat Tracer, and conducted aboard that vessel,which lay at anchor in the stream. Cobb was informed that, as it wasso early, he had better retire and take a little more rest, for theywould not weigh anchor until 7 dial. Acquiescing, he was shown to hisstate-room.
It was a cozy affair, indeed, that Cobb was ushered into--a little, buthandsomely furnished room, containing all that one could desire in athoroughly well-appointed apartment. Electric lamps threw a charming,subdued light over everything in the room, while an electric heaterdiffused a gentle warmth which was most agreeable this Septembermorning. Retiring to rest, Cobb dreamed of nothing but pneumaticrailways, submarine boats, and gigantic convulsions of nature.
It was about 7 dial when both Rawolle and Lyman came and awoke theirguest, who, after a refreshing bath and a delicious breakfast, ascendedto the upper deck of the Tracer.
The main deck of the vessel was of very small area amidship, some twofeet above the water-line, and inclosed by an iron railing.
A beautiful scene presented itself to his view. The Tracer lay abouthalf a mile from the docks of Cairo, and that city was just awakeningto its daily round of bustle and activity. The stream was covered withshipping, some at anchor, while others were plying between the city andthe opposite shore, a mile and a half away. Sailing craft there were aplenty, but no steamers, though there were many vessels moving swiftlythrough the water, yet showing no smoke or funnels.
This fact was immediately noted by Cobb, and inquiry made of Lyman, whostood near him, as to why there was no smoke visible.
"Neither coal nor wood is now used for marine propulsion," repliedLyman. "Lipthalite vapor, or lipthalene, is now the motive power ofvessels without sails. I will show you some of this lipthalite, lateron, in this vessel."
Turning his eyes from the busy and charming scene about him, Cobb'sthoughts came back to his immediate surroundings. What was he standingupon? The small, water-flush deck of a metal submarine vessel, thetotal area of which could not exceed a thousand square feet. A numberof peculiar openings, valves, and pipes abutted on the deck, and asingle metal mast stood at the bows; but no smoke-stack or otheraccessories to propulsion were visible.
Surveying all these things, he was about to ask information concerningtheir use, when Lieutenant Sibley, the officer in command, made hisappearance, and was introduced to him.
"I am sorry I was not aboard to welcome your arrival, last evening, Mr.Cobb," he began, in a courteous and pleasing tone of voice, "but I wasdetained in Central City, across the river, until early this morning. Ihope you slept well, and are ready for the trip to Pittsburgh?"
"Not only ready, but anxious for it," was the reply.
In a few moments more, by order of the Lieutenant, the anchor wasraised, and the Tracer moved up the stream, headed E. 1/4 N.
As the vessel moved through the shipping, the national colors, whichwere displayed from its mast, were saluted by the dipping of flags andsounding of whistles.
A hoarse-toned marine whistle, almost at Cobb's feet, answered thesesalutations, and also caused that gentleman to jump back with astartled expression.
Drawing his hand from the whistle button, Lieutenant Sibley apologizedfor frightening him, saying:
"It did not occur to me that I had others aboard than those who areaccustomed to these vessels."
The Tracer was a cigar-shaped vessel of two hundred feet in length bytwenty beam, or middle diameter, and of nearly 1,000 tons displacementwhen submerged.
With an outer shell of aluminum bronze and an inner shell of the fineststeel, the vessel combined great strength with a minimum amount ofmetal in its construction.
"Gentlemen, if you will follow me," said Lieutenant Sibley, "I willshow you over the vessel."
Descending the companion-way, the entrance to which could be closed byan air-tight door, the party proceeded about the vessel.
Longitudinally and horizontally, from apex to apex of the cones, wasa steel deck dividing the vessel into two equal parts. The firstforty-five feet of each cone contained the tubes of compressed airand oxygen. There were in each end about 2,500 feet of five-inch steeltubes, one-half inch thick, containing over 4,500 cubic feet of airunder a pressure of 1,500 pounds per square inch. This was sufficient,as Lieutenant Sibley explained, to sustain active life for the entirecrew for two hours. "But we have other facilities," continued theLieutenant, "by which the vitiated air is deprived of its carbonicacid, and then recharged with the lipthalene gas from the receivers andoxygen from the pipes, giving about eight hours of active life to theinmates of the vessel when totally deprived of air externally."
The store-rooms, mess-rooms, and quarters of the men were visited.Small though these rooms were, they were made with every convenience,and given every useful contrivance which this great age of inventioncould produce.
The Tracer was no
t a war vessel, but belonged to the GeographicalBureau, and was used in charting the Central Sea. Her complement wassmall: two engineers, two pilots, one electrician, cook, assistantcook, captain's boy, two helpers, and two officers. Everything was soadmirably arranged, and machinery played such a wonderful part in thepower required to handle the vessel, that a larger force was not onlyunnecessary, but would have been detrimental to a satisfactory workingof the vessel.
Cobb called attention to the steel partitions between the rooms, andasked why so much strength was required.
"There are," answered Lieutenant Sibley, "twelve partitions, dividingthe vessel into twenty-six compartments. In case of accident tothe outer shell, whereby water might gain ingress, that particularcompartment can instantly be closed and the flow of water confined toit. Before going down into the engine-room, I will give you some ideaof this remarkable vessel. The Tracer, when fully submerged, displaces1,000 tons of water. The shell of the vessel is of 11/2-inch steel,covered externally by an aluminum armor of .3 of an inch in thickness,and weighs 570,000 pounds. The steel deck upon which we stand weighs500,000; the steel partitions, braces, and iron-work weigh 195,000;the engines and machinery, 200,000; compressed air pipes, 125,000; thewater cylinders, which you will soon see, weigh 100,000; all otherparts, stores, lipthalite, etc., are allowed 50,000 pounds. Now, addedto all this, is an immense aluminum-covered iron weight of 150,000pounds attached to the bottom of the vessel, and which can instantlybe freed and dropped from the ship into the sea, by simply breaking anelectrical connection. This circuit is accessible from all parts of thevessel. Let us descend into the engine-rooms, and I will there explainwhy I have been so particular in giving you these weights."
Following the Lieutenant down the narrow ladder into the depth below,Cobb, Rawolle, and Lyman were soon facing the powerful but smallengines of the Tracer.
The room was large, clean, warm, and brightly illuminated byelectricity. Here, Mr. Lochridge, the first engineer, was introduced byLieutenant Sibley.
Cobb had seen the engines of many of the first-class vessels of hisday, had noted their power and huge dimensions; but never before had heperceived such beautiful specimens of strength combined with size; nordid the finest workmanship he had ever seen approach to the perfectionof the engines he saw beating and pulsating before him.
Cobb looked them carefully over before venturing any remark. He notedan absence of steam and heat, the peculiar construction of the boilers,and many other, to him, new inventions.
"I believe, Mr. Rawolle," he finally said, turning to him, "that youinformed me last evening that no steam was used at the present day, butin its place, lipthalite?"
"That is our fuel and vapor nowadays," broke in Mr. Lochridge.
He led the way to two receivers, bearing some slight resemblance to theboilers of a steamer.
"Here are our boilers and furnaces combined," he continued; "andthese," as he laid his hand upon two very peculiarly constructedfrontal additions, which had quite a number of straight pipes runninginto the large receiver, "are our furnaces, if you choose to call themby such a designation; we call them generators. Lipthalite is our fueland gas developer."
Mr. Lochridge stooped down and took from a case, containing many more,a stick of dark-brown material about four feet long by one inch indiameter, and handed it to Cobb for his inspection, saying:
"That is lipthalite. These rods are placed in those tubes, and, byproper mechanism, pushed through into the field of an arc lightsituated in the generator. Gas is evolved in great quantities, but thecomposition burns only while in the field of the arc. Little heat isdeveloped. The gas is delivered to the cylinders in the same manner aswas steam in your day."
"What is the volume of gas as compared with the solid base? and is itcheaper and as efficient as vapor of water?"
"I expected that question, Mr. Cobb," returned Mr. Lochridge, "and willexplain it. One cubic foot of water, as you know, produces nearly 1,700cubic feet of steam; one cubic inch of gunpowder makes about 1,500cubic inches of carbonic acid and nitrogen gases; while one cubic inchof lipthalite will evolve 500 cubic feet of lipthalene, a combinationof nitrogen, carbonic acid, and other gases. The ratio between waterand lipthalite, evolved into gas, is as 1 to 500. In other words, tooperate the engines of this vessel at a given speed for one hour,requires, of coal and water, one and thirty-one tons respectively;while of lipthalite, twenty-three pounds. Leaving out the question ofwater, of which there is a plentiful supply surrounding the vessel, thegain in a twenty-four hours' run for lipthalite over coal is as 1 isto 96; or one ton of lipthalite is used where ninety-six tons of coalwould have been required."
"It is a wonderful discovery!" exclaimed Cobb, and a far-away, dreamyexpression came into his eyes. For an instant his mind went back tothe days, long years ago, when he had spent hours in his laboratory,at the Presidio, searching for this very same agent--the storage ofgreat power in small volume--and his partial success in the discoveryof meteorite. Then his thoughts led him to the remembrance that his newexplosive had been sent to Washington. What had become of it? Lost,lost, years ago!
"Do you comprehend the advance in science that has been made in ahundred years?" and Rawolle broke his reverie by gently touching him onthe arm.
"Can I help it? Could anyone have dreamed of such a power as this?"
Yes. He had dreamed of it; and many, many times. But too modest toventure the knowledge that his thoughts and work had been centered onsuch a grand invention, he turned to Mr. Lochridge, and abruptly asked:
"Is lipthalite turned into gas by explosion?"
"By no means," quickly returned that gentleman; "by inflammation, andinflammation alone, and not very fast, either. In our generators, here,it is at the rate of about two hundred and fifty feet of these sticksper hour."
"Strange that I should have worked on this very principle!" he said,half aloud; then turning to Lieutenant Sibley, he exclaimed:
"You spoke of water cylinders; where are they?"
"Under the grating, Mr. Cobb."
Mr. Lochridge raised the grated flooring, and showed threeiron cylinders, each divided into halves, with piston-rods andcylinder-heads. They were about four feet in diameter by twenty-threefeet long.
"These, gentlemen," he continued, "are connected by pipes with theoutside of the vessel. Water can be admitted into any one or all ofthese cylinders, and, in two minutes, driven out by the pistons. Shouldthese pistons fail, from any cause, to work, pumps connected withthe cylinders could perform the same duty in ten minutes. I gave youthe weights a few minutes ago; what did I make them?" taking a pieceof paper and pencil from his pocket, and making a few notes. "Yes;1,940,000 pounds, or just thirty tons less than our displacement. Thewater cylinders have a capacity of fifty tons. By allowing thirtytons of water to enter the cylinders, our weight is equal to ourdisplacement, and we sink. Allowing all loss of weight aboard shipduring a cruise, and which never exceeds twenty tons, we can alwaysdecrease our buoyancy and sink to the bottom, if necessary. Now, here,"pointing to the left, and along the walls of the vessel, "are thedynamos for the electric lights, fans for circulating the fresh air,steering apparatus, electric heaters, exhaust pumps for expelling thevitiated air and drawing in the fresh, and many other inventions, theuses of which you can learn at your leisure."
The engine-room of the Tracer was indeed a curiosity-shop to JuniusCobb. Pipes in every direction; electric wires crossed and recrossedone another; peculiar machines occupied each side of the room, and ahundred other things, strange to him, were upon either side. Leavingthe engine-room, Lieutenant Sibley led the way to the instrument-roomof the ship. Here a new treat awaited Cobb.
Situated just at the junction of the main shell and the forward cone,was the pilot's, or instrument, room. In an easy-chair, in front of abox about two feet square, and resting on the table, sat Mr. Irwin, thefirst pilot of the Tracer. On either side of him, and fastened to thewalls of the room, were a great number of delicate instruments, someof which were fami
liar to Cobb. At either side of the box on the tablewere several rows of push-buttons; to the left, a fine compass, and tothe right, speaking tubes and bells.
"You met Mr. Cobb at breakfast, did you not, Irwin?" questionedLieutenant Sibley, as the pilot arose and greeted the entrance of theparty with a smile.
"Yes, I had that pleasure," he returned, bowing. "Have you been overthe ship?" to Cobb.
"We have taken it all in, Mr. Irwin," said Lyman, answering for theparty.
"How is the course? and where are we now?" asked the Lieutenant.
"It is now 9:35, and we are headed northeast by east. Cairo is to ourrear ninety-five miles. We are over Princeton, thirty miles north ofEvansville," was the reply.
"You may make Louisville. What time will we get there?"
Consulting his chart a moment, Mr. Irwin replied:
"Louisville is on our course now, and distant one hundred andeighty-eight miles. We will make it at 14:12."
"Now, Irwin, I wish you would explain the mysteries of your castle toMr. Cobb, and then bring the gentleman to my cabin. You will excuse usa few minutes, will you not, Mr. Cobb? I have some official papers forMr. Rawolle's inspection. Mr. Lyman, will you come along, too?" to thatgentleman.
As they left the room, Mr. Irwin turned to Cobb, and held a fewminutes' conversation regarding the remarkable experience of thelatter; then, rising, he pointed to the right wall and said:
"These are instruments used aboard submarine vessels of to-day.There is a thermometer for interior temperature, that for exteriortemperature; here are electric dials giving the humidity in variousparts of the ship. These dials to the left show the motion of thefans, dynamos, and all other moving machinery aboard. The interiorpressure is here noted," placing his hand upon a barometer, "and theexterior, there. The purity of the air is indicated by this littledelicate meter. The speed of the vessel is shown on that reel, which isconnected, electrically, with the log. These little bells," pointing totwenty-four little bells overhead, "will quickly give warning of theentrance of water into any of the chambers. The equilibrium of the shipis denoted automatically by this alcohol cross combined with a doublependulum. The lipthalene pressure is given here. The many buttons andtubes communicate to all parts of the ship. Those two buttons releasethe iron weight at the bottom of the vessel, and these twelve buttonsregulate the entry and exit of the water in the six water cylinders.The speed is regulated here, and the vessel steered by this littlewheel;" and he pointed out the various instruments as he mentionedtheir uses. Cobb carefully examined every instrument as it wasmentioned to him. Turning to Mr. Irwin, he asked:
"But where is your steersman--your lookout, I mean? Cooped up inthis little room, you can see nothing around the ship. Even on deck,especially in rough weather, you would be too low down to have much ofa view of your surroundings."
"The explanation is most simple. Look into that box, if you please, andlet your head fill the opening, to darken the interior."
He smiled as he noted Cobb's perplexed expression.
Obeying Mr. Irwin's request, Cobb fitted his face to the opening andgazed inside the box. He saw the sea rising and falling in its swell,vessels passing in various directions, the faint blue outlines ofthe shore to the northwest, and--click, the scene changes: now othervessels in view, and a clear circle of the horizon, denoting a greatexpanse of water. Again a clicking sound, and--
"My God!" he cried, starting back; "a ship! a ship is almost upon us!"
Like lightning, Irwin sprang to the camera and glanced in; then quicklyreaching out his hand, his fingers touched a button, and the hoarsemarine whistle of the Tracer thundered forth its warning; seizingthe tiller-wheel, he threw it hard aport, and then, without pausing,pressed another button, and the large gongs of the ship pealed outtheir summons to its crew that danger was imminent. Even as the alarmsounded, came a shock, a shiver, a slight careening of the vessel, andas Irwin took his white face from the camera, the grateful exclamation:
"Thank God! we are safe! Look! the monster passes by!"
Into the camera Cobb again peered; the dark, black stern of a largefreighter was passing to the southwest.
Lieutenant Sibley and the crew of the Tracer were quickly huddled atthe door of the pilot's room.
"Lieutenant," said Irwin, with a salute, "I confess that we have had avery narrow escape from being run down by a heavy freighter. Explainingthese instruments to Mr. Cobb, I failed to note the approach of thevessel."
The alarm having subsided, the subject was fully discussed, and Mr.Irwin was exonerated by the Lieutenant. All parties then returned totheir various occupations.
Mr. Irwin then turned to Cobb and said:
"It was very negligent of me not to carefully survey the field forapproaching vessels. The Tracer carries but a single mast, and sitsso low in the water, that these many merchant ships, with theirsleepy crews, often fail to sight her until too late to make a properclearing." Then returning to the subject upon which they had beenspeaking when Cobb's excited exclamation had burst forth, he continued:
"I see that you have understood the object of the little dark box onthe table. It is a camera-obscura. The single mast of the Tracer isof aluminum, strong, slight, and hollow, and rises to a height oftwenty-eight feet. A lens at the top revolves by pushing this button;thus a perfect image of the surrounding water and all upon it is thrownon the white ground within the box. Sitting here and looking in thebox, I note the proximity of objects and steer the vessel. The mastalso serves to carry an arc light for night traveling, and our flagby day. Further, our air is drawn down through pipes in its interior;for, during heavy seas, we must have the air inlets far above the deck,which is constantly washed by the rollers."
Some further conversation was indulged in, and then Cobb thanked Mr.Irwin for his kindness, excused himself, and was soon seated, withLieutenant Sibley, in the latter's cozy cabin.
Lunch having been disposed of, Rawolle, taking out his watch, remarkedto Cobb: "In a few minutes we will be directly over Louisville,Kentucky; and in these few minutes, I will briefly explain the effectsof the great cataclysm of 1916, as I promised to do: The gas strataof the Ohio basin," he began, "extending from above Pittsburgh to theMississippi River, with pockets innumerable and ramifications in everydirection, contained millions of millions of cubic feet of gas undervarying pressures from nil to many atmospheres. The catastrophe atDillenback's ignited the gas in what appeared to have been the mainstrata. Explosion followed explosion throughout the region now occupiedby the Central Sea. The earth was rent and broken, and the greatvacuums, caused by the annihilation of the gases, took away the supportof the upper crust, and then atmospheric pressure completed the ruin.The earth sank and crushed into these voids until a new foundationwas reached. In some sections the fall of the crust was frightful,terrific. In the vicinity of Cincinnati but one shock was felt, butthat shock was terrible, horrible, annihilating. The earth sank 196feet at one fall. Not a living soul escaped the shock of impact uponthe underlying strata. The city was an inconceivable mass of ruins,and in two days, was covered with water. So it was over a region of100,000 square miles, the earth sinking everywhere, but to differentdepths and with different rates of depression. Pittsburgh sank 377feet, but so slowly that few lives were lost, though the destruction ofproperty was very great. At the mouth of the Ohio the earth sank onlyone foot, increasing toward the east. Millions of lives were sacrificedand untold wealth lost, for the great depression commenced immediatelyto fill with the waters from the streams flowing into the Ohio basin,and from the underlying strata. Even the Mississippi turned its watersinto the old mouth of the Ohio and flowed east, leaving but a small,shallow stream to flow in its old bed until augmented by the streamsand rivers emptying into it below Cairo. Even with all these waters itwas an insignificant river until it reached the Arkansas and receivedthe mass of water from that river. But in 1918 the river was divertedback to its proper channel; though later on the dam was removed, owingto the rise in the Central Sea, and t
he natural outlet being at Cairo.This, in brief, Mr. Cobb, is the effect of a single accident in a gunfactory, in 1916; though who can tell but that it might have occurredlater on from some other cause?"
"But did not those who were not injured by the shocks and fallingbuildings have time to move their effects before the waters overtookthem? for, surely, this immense sea did not fill up in a few days,"ventured Cobb.
"Along the Ohio, from this side of Louisville to above Cincinnati,scarcely any property was saved. The depression was such that thesubmergence came very quickly. But this was not the case in thesurrounding country. In one week the shocks were over and the earthquiet. People recovered from their fears a little, and looked aboutthem. Later on they commenced to rebuild, and it was not until a yearafter that they found a new foe against which they could not combat:the country was below the level of any outlet, natural or artificial,and was filling up into an inland sea. Surveys were made, and in 1918the true condition of the country ascertained. Then, and only then, wasit found that the region now covered by the Central Sea was destinedto be lost to mankind. Human ingenuity could not solve the problem ofdrainage. There was no drainage. Far below the bed of the Mississippi,the only possible outlet, the country was doomed to inundation. Thesurvey was completed and the true limits established. All within thatarea began to be abandoned. Property, wherever possible, was removed;but the buildings, at least those which could not be taken apart andmoved, still remain under the sea as monuments of a once denselypopulated area. To be sure, the removal was not rapid. The exact timewas known, from the surveys made, when the waters would gain theirmaximum height, or reach to any particular point."
"Such an immense basin must have required a considerable time to fillup?" inquired Cobb.
"It did--years. It was a gala day at Cairo, and a day of rejoicingthroughout the land, when, on the 14th of August, 1939, the Central Seareached the dam at that city, and passed over in a gently increasingstream. The dam was removed, the channel opened, and navigation fromthe ocean to this immense body of water, through the mouth of the oldOhio River, was unobstructed."
"Why," exclaimed Cobb, in astonishment, "that was twenty-three yearsafter the disturbances! It took longer to fill up than I had imagined."
"The area lost," continued Rawolle, "was about one hundred thousandsquare miles; the volume nearly one hundred and seventy-five trillioncubic feet. The water-shed of the Ohio produced ten billion cubic feetper day, all of which flowed into the Central Sea. The first two yearsthe Mississippi discharged a like amount into the sunken area. It wasestimated that over ninety trillion cubic feet of water were pushedup, so to speak, from the strata of the earth by the subsidence of theupper crust. Thus, one hundred trillion cubic feet of water rushed intothe doomed basin of the Ohio in the first two years, making inundationvery rapid during that time, and frightfully rapid during the firstweek. The Ohio water-shed supplied nearly four trillion cubic feet peryear, which, to complete the seventy-five trillion necessary to fillthe sea, took twenty-one years."
"This is a most wonderful occurrence, and did I not have ocular proofof its reality, I admit I should be loath to believe it a possibility;"and Cobb seemed lost in a reverie of the marvelous events which hadtranspired during his long sleep on Mt. Olympus.
The tinkling of a bell caused Lieutenant Sibley, who had been writingat his desk, to look up and say:
"I presume we are near Louisville."
Then, going to the tube, he answered Mr. Irwin, in the pilot-room, andwas informed that the vessel was then over the city of Louisville.
The Tracer was soon brought to a rest, and Cobb witnessed the peculiararrangements made for descending to the bottom of the sea. He watchedevery movement and noted every detail, and saw with what wonderfulfacility a thousand-ton ship could be made to obey a man's will.
The mast of the Tracer was dropped until its top rested upon the deckof the vessel, its top closing automatically to prevent the ingress ofwater. A large circular float containing air-valves, and attached toa long hose, was loosened from its fastenings on the deck. The watercylinders were opened, and as they partially filled, the vessel lostits superiority of displacement and began to sink; the large float,with its air-valves, and attached to the hose, remained upon the top ofthe water, permitting air to be drawn down into the vessel by suction.Thus a constant supply of fresh air was obtained without recourse tothe compressed air in store. In fact, the latter was never used exceptin emergencies or when it was desired, as in the case of war, to keepthe approach of the vessel a secret.
The sensation of falling was apparent, but it was indescribablypeculiar; neither pleasing, nor yet distasteful--such a feeling aswhen, in his boyhood days, he had sat upon the board of a swing and letthe "old cat die."
Passing with Lieutenant Sibley and the others into the pilot's room,he saw the ease with which the descent was regulated, and noted theinstrument showing the depth of submersion.
Mr. Irwin pressed a button, and Cobb felt the tremor of a forwardmovement. The displacement being but a trifle less than the weight ofthe vessel, the movements of the ship were now regulated by its enginesand double rudders.
Stepping to the side of the room, the Lieutenant threw open the steelcovering of a bull's-eye, and then pressed the button near it. Abrilliant flash shot out, and the rays penetrated the water for aconsiderable distance in every direction.
"There!" cried Lieutenant Sibley, with an involuntary wave of hishand. "Behold the city of the dead, Louisville!--Louisville, once sucha grand city, now a silent, slime-covered, submerged testimony ofnature's conquering power over man's puny will."
Cobb pressed his face against the glass and silently gazed upon thelifeless buildings and streets of the city. Even as they stood yearsago, so stood many at that moment. Others were in ruins, with gapingwalls and broken doors and windows, and all were covered with mud andslime and marine vegetation.
The streets were half-way up to the second stories, but the tops ofthe street-lamps could be discerned sticking out of the muddy sedimentwhich had been deposited over everything.
Slowly the Tracer moved forward, and the whole expanse of the southeastside of this unfortunate, but once brilliant, city was presented toview.
What emotions filled that man's breast, with his eyes glued, as iffascinated by some unknown power, upon the spot he had, in years longsince past, visited, looked upon, and walked in! With a sickeningfeeling of utter sadness at his heart, he turned away.
"God's ways are inscrutable," he sighed. A tear glistened in his eye ashe cried: "No more! Let us ascend!"
At 24 dial the Tracer was at her moorings in Pittsburgh, and Cobb,Rawolle, and Lyman took the Chicago Pneumatic for Washington.
As he lay in his berth in the sleeper, his mind reverted back to thedays when he had met his friends in social evenings of pleasure; tohis old friend in Duke's Lane, and to the bright, lovely face of thatman's daughter. Ah! how he longed for but an hour with them--an hourof true friendship and love; how he craved to listen to but a moment'sinnocent prattle of his girl-love. Alone among strangers, among apeople far ahead of his time, he felt that he was looked upon as acuriosity, but not as one claiming sympathy and love as a relative ordear friend. Did the experiment come up to the ideal? Was he satisfiedto die and live again? He asked these questions of himself. Hemeditated--reflected--and slept.
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