 The Great Stone of Sardis by Frank R Stockton. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter 9 The Artesian Ray In less than a week after the engagement of Roland Clue and Margaret Rawley, work on the Great Machine, which was to generate the Artesian ray, had so far progressed that it was possible to make some preliminary experiments with it. Although Clue was sorry to think of the very undesirable companion which Samuel Block had carried with him into the polar regions, he could not but feel a certain satisfaction when he reflected that there was now no danger of Rovinsky gaining any knowledge of the momentous operation which he had in hand in Sardis. He had had frequent telegrams from Sammy but no trouble of any kind had yet arisen. It was true that the time for trouble, if there were to be any, had probably not yet arrived, but Clue could not afford to disturb his mind with anticipations of disagreeable things which might happen. The masses of lenses, batteries, tubes and coils which constituted the new instrument had been set up in the Lens House and it was with this invention that Clue had succeeded in producing that new form of light which would not only penetrate any material substance but illuminate and render transparent anything through which it passed and which would, it was hoped, extend itself into the earth to a depth only limited by the electric power used to regenerate it. Margaret was very anxious to be present at the first experiment but Clue was not willing that this should be. It is almost certain, he said, that there will be failures at first, not caused perhaps by any radical defects in the apparatus but by some minor fault in some part of it. This almost always happens in a new machine and then there are uninteresting work and depressing waiting. As soon as I see that my invention will act as I want it to act I shall have you in the Lens House with me. We may not be able to do very much at first but when I really begin to do anything I want both of us to see it done. There was no flooring in that part of the Lens House where the machine was set up for Clue wished his new light to operate directly upon the earth. At about eight feet above the ground was the opening through which the artesian ray would pass perpendicularly downward whenever the lever should be moved which would connect the main electric current. When all was ready Clue sent everyone, even Bryce, the master workman from the room. If his invention should totally fail he wanted no one but himself to witness that failure but if it should succeed or even give promise of doing so he would be glad to have the eyes of his trusted associates witness that success. When the doors were shut and locked Clue moved a lever and a disc of light three feet in diameter immediately appeared upon the ground. It was a colorless light but it seemed to give a more vivid hue to everything it shone upon such as the little stones a piece of wood half embedded in the earth grains of sand and a piece of mortar. In a few seconds however these things all disappeared and there revealed itself to the eyes of Clue a perfectly smooth surface of brown earth. This continued for some little time now and then a rounded or a flattened stone appearing in it and then gradually fading away. As Clue stared intently down upon the illuminated space the brown earth seemed to melt and disappear and he gazed upon a surface of fine sand dark or yellowish thickly interspersed with gravel stones. This appearance changed and a large rounded stone was seen almost in the center of the glowing disc. The worn and smooth surface of the stone faded away and he beheld what looked like a split section of a cobblestone. Then it disappeared altogether and there was another flat surface of gravel and sand. Between himself and the illuminated space on which he gazed his breath quick and his eyes widely distended there seemed to be nothing at all. To all appearances he was looking into a cylindrical hole a few feet deep. Everything between the bottom of this hole and himself was invisible. The light had made intervening substances transparent and had deprived them of color and outlines. It was as though he looked through air. Then his eyes fell upon the sides of this cylindrical opening and these illuminated but not otherwise acted upon by the volume of the artesian rays showed in all their true colors and forms everything which went to make up the sides of the bright cavity into which he looked. He saw the various strata of clay sand gravel exactly as he would have seen them in a circular hole cut accurately and smoothly into the earth. No stone or lump protruded from the side of this apparent excavation the inner surface of which was as smooth as if it had been cut down with a sharp instrument. Clue was frightened. Was it possible that this could be an imaginary cavity into which he was looking? He drew back. He was about to put one foot to feel if it were really solid ground upon which this light was pouring but he refrained. He got a long stick and with it touched the center of the light. What he felt was hard and solid. The end of the stick seemed to melt and this startled him. He pulled back the stick. He could go on no further by himself. He must have somebody in here with him. He must have the testimony of some other eyes. He needed the company of a man with a cool and steady brain. He ran to the door and called Bryce. When the master workman had entered and the door had been locked behind him he exclaimed how pale you are. Does it work? I think so said Clue. But perhaps I'm crazy and only imagine it. You see that circular patch of light upon the ground there. I want you to go close to it and look down upon it and tell me what you see. Bryce stepped quickly to the illuminated space. He looked down at it then he approached nearer. Then he carefully placed his feet by its edge and leaned over further. Gazing intently downward and he exclaimed good heavens how did you make the hole? At that moment he heard a groan and looking across the illuminated space he saw Clue tottering. In the next moment he was stretched upon the ground in a dead faint. When Bryce had hurried to the side of his employer and had thrown a picture of water over him it was not long before Clue revived. In answer to Bryce's inquiries he simply replied that he supposed he had been too much excited by the success of his work. You see said he that was not a hole at all that you were looking into it was the solid earth made transparent by the artesian ray. The thing works perfectly. Please step to that lever and turn it off. I can stand no more at present. Bryce moved the lever and the light upon the ground disappeared. He approached the place where it had been. It was nothing but common earth. He put his foot upon it. He stamped. It was as solid as any other part of the state. And yet I have looked down into it he ejaculated. At least half a dozen feet. When Bryce turned and went back to Clue he too was pale. I do not wonder you fainted said he. I do not believe it was what you saw that upset you. It was what you expected to see. Wasn't that it? Clue nodded in an indefinite way. We won't talk about it now said he. I don't want any more experiments today. We will cover up the instrument and go. When Roland Clue reached his room he sat down in the armchair to think. He had made a grand and wonderful success but it was not upon that that his mind was now fixed. It was upon the casual and accidental effect of the work of his invention of which he had never dreamed. Bryce had made a great mistake in thinking that it was not what Roland Clue had seen but what he had expected to see which had caused him to drop insensible. It was what he had seen. When the master workmen had approached the lighted space upon the ground Clue stood opposite to him a little distance from the apparatus. As Bryce looked down he leaned forward more and more until the greater part of his body was directly over the lighted space. Looking at him Clue was startled amazed and horrified to find all that portion of his person which projected itself into the limits of the light had entirely disappeared and that he was gazing upon a section of a man's trunk brightly illuminated and displayed in all its internal colors and outlines. Such a sight was enough to take away the senses of any man and he did not wonder that he had fainted. Now said he to himself all the time that I was looking into that apparent hole never thinking that in order to see down into it I was obliged to project a portion of myself into the line of the artesian ray. That portion of me was transparent invisible if Bryce had come in and then as the thought came into his mind his heart stopped beating if Margaret had been there for an hour he sat in his chair racking his brain. She must see the working of the ray he said I must tell her of my success she must see it as soon as possible it is cruel to keep her waiting but how shall I manage it how shall I shield her from the slightest possibility of what happened to me. Heavens he exclaimed if she had been there. After a time he determined that before any further experiments should take place he would build a circular screen a little room which should entirely surround the space on which the artesian ray was operated. Only one person at a time should be allowed to enter this screened apartment which should then be closed it would make no difference if one should become invisible provided there was no one else to know it. It was on the evening of the next day that Margaret beheld the action of the artesian ray. She greatly objected at first to going inside of the screened space by herself and urged Rowland to accompany her but this he stoutly refused to do assuring her that it was essential for but one person at a time to view the action of the ray. She demurred a good deal but at last consented to allow herself to be shut up within the screen. What Margaret saw was different from the gradual excavation which had revealed itself before the eyes of Rowland. She looked immediately into a hole nearly 10 feet deep. The action of the apparatus was such that the power of penetration gained by the ray during its operation at any time was retained so that when the current was shut off the photic boring ceased and recommend when the batteries were again put into action at the point where it had left off. The moment Margaret looked down she gave a little cry and started back against the screen. She was afraid she would fall in. Rowland she exclaimed you don't mean to say that this is not really an opening into the earth. He was near her on the other side of the screen and he explained to her the action of the light over and over she asked him to come inside and tell her what it was she saw but he always refused. The bottom is beautifully smooth and gray she exclaimed what is that sand said Rowland and now it is white like a piece of pottery she exclaimed that is white clay said he don't you want to take my place said she if you will not come with me no said Rowland look down as long as you wish I know pretty well what you will see for some time to come has there been any change the bottom is still white she replied but it is glittering that is white sand said he the artesian well which supplies the works revealed to me long ago the character of the soil at this spot so that for a hundred feet or more I know what we may expect to see she came out hurriedly when you begin to speak of wells she said I am frightened if I should see water I should lose my head she sat down and put her hand before her eyes my brain is dazzled she said I don't feel strong enough to believe what I have seen Rowland shut off the current and opened the screen come here Margaret he said this is a spot upon which the light was shining I think it will do you good to look at it tread upon it it will help to reassure you that the things about us are real Margaret was silent for a few moments and then approaching Rowland she took him by both hands you have succeeded said she you are the greatest discoverer of this age my dear Margaret he interrupted quickly do not let us talk in that way we have only just begun to work above all things do not let us get excited if everything works properly it will not belong before I can send the artesian ray down into the depths with which I am not acquainted how far I do not know but we must wait and see what is the utmost we can do when we have reached that point it will be in order to hoist our flags and blow our trumpets I hope it will not belong before the light descends so deep that we shall be obliged to use a telescope and it will not be possible Rowland Margaret said earnestly that we shall ever look down into the earth together when the light gets beyond the depths to which people have dug and bored I shall never want to stand there alone behind the screen and see what next shall show itself that screen is an awkward affair said Rowland perhaps I may think of a method by which it can be done away with and by which we can stand side by side and look down as far into the depths of the earth as our artesian ray can be induced to bore end of chapter nine the great stone of sadists by Frank R Stockton this LibriVox recording is in the public domain chapter 10 Lake Shiva steadily the dipsy worked her way northward and as she moved on her course her progress became somewhat slower than it had been at first this decrease in speed was due partially to extreme caution on the part of Mr Gibbs the master electrician the attenuated cable which continually stretched itself out behind the little vessel was of the most recent and improved pattern for deep sea cables the conducting wires in the center of it were scarcely thicker than hairs while the wires forming the surrounding envelope although they were so small as to make the whole cable not more than an eighth of an inch in diameter were far stronger than the thick submarine cables which were used in the early days of ocean telegraphy these outer wires were made of the swedish tough and steel fiber and in 1939 with one of them a little over a sixteenth of an inch in diameter a freight ship of 11,000 tons had been towed through the great New Jersey canal which had then just been opened and which connected Philadelphia with the ocean but notwithstanding his faith in the strength of the cable Mr Gibbs felt more and more the farther he progressed from the habitable world the importance of preserving it from accident he had gone so far that it would be a grievous thing to be obliged to turn back the dipsy sailed at a much lower depth than when she had first started upon her submarine way after they had become accustomed to the feeling of being surrounded by water her inmates seemed to feel a greater sense of security when they were well down below all possible disturbing influence when they looked forward in the line of the searchlight or through any of the windows in various parts of the vessel they never saw anything but water no fish nothing floating they were too far below the ice above them to see it and too far from what might be on either side of them to catch a glimpse of it the bottom was deep below them and it was as though they were moving through an aqueous atmosphere they were comfortable and beginning to be accustomed to their surrounding circumstances the air came in regularly and steadily through the electric gills and when deteriorated air had collected in an exploration chamber in the upper part of the vessel it was forced out by a great piston which sent it by a hundred little valves into the surrounding water thus the pure air came in and the refuse air went out just as if the little dipsy had been healthfully breathing as it pushed its way through the depths mrs. block was gaining flesh the narrow accommodations the everlasting electric light the sameness of food and a total absence of incident had become quite natural to her and she had ceased to depend upon the companionship of the dust brush and the almanac to carry her mind back to what she considered the real things of life sara had something better now to take her mind back to sardis and the people and things on dry land the engagement and probably early marriage of mr. clue and mrs. roley had made a great impression upon her and there were days when she never thought of the pole so busy was she in making plans based upon the future connection of the life of herself and sammy and that of mr. and mrs. clue sammy and his wife had a very good quarters within the boundaries of the works but sara had never been quite satisfied with them and when the new household of clues should be set up and all the new domestic arrangements should be made she hoped for better things mr. clues little cottage would then be vacant for of course he and his wife would not live in such a place as that and she thought that she and sammy should have it hour by hour and day by day she planned the furnishing the fitting and the management of this cottage she was determined to have a servant a woman thoroughly capable of doing general housework and then there were times when she believed that if sammy should succeed in finding the pole his salary would be increased and they might be able to afford two servants over and over again did she consider the question whether in this latter case these women should both be general housework servants or one of them a cook and the other a chambermaid and laundress there was much to be considered on each side in the latter case more efficient work could be obtained but in the former in case one of them should suddenly leave or go away for a day out the other could do all the work it was very pleasant to mrs block to sit in a comfortable arm chair and gaze thus into the future sometimes she looked up into the water above and sometimes out into the water ahead but she could see nothing but in the alluring expanse of her fancied future she could see anything which she chose to put there sammy however did not increase in flesh in fact he grew thinner nothing important in regard to the pole ravinsky had occurred but of course something would occur otherwise why did the pole come on board the dipsy endless conjectures as to what ravinsky would do when he did anything and when he would begin to do it kept the good samuel awake during many hours when he should have been soundly sleeping he had said nothing yet to mr gibbs in regard to the matter every day he made a report to roll and clue about ravinsky but clues instructions were that for so long as the pole behaved himself properly there was no reason to trouble the minds of the party on board with fears of riskality on his part they had enough to occupy their minds without any disturbing influence of that sort clues own opinion on the subject was that ravinsky would do nothing but act as a spy and afterwards make dishonest use of the knowledge he should acquire but the man had put himself into clues power and he could not possibly get away from him until he should return to Cape tariff and even there it would be difficult the proper and only thing to do was to keep him in custody as long as possible when he should be brought back to a region of law and justice it might be that the pole could be prevented for a time at least from using the results of his navish observations there was another person on board whose mind was disturbed by ravinsky this was mr marsy the assistant engineer an active energetic fellow filled with ambition and love of adventure and one of the most hopeful and cheerful persons on board he had never heard of ravinsky and did not know that there was anybody in the world who was trying to benefit himself by fraudulent knowledge of mr clues discoveries and inventions but he hated the pole on his own account the man's countenance was so villainous that it was enough of itself to arouse the dislike of a healthy minded young fellow such as marsy but moreover the pole had habits of sneaking about the vessel and afterwards retiring to quiet corners where he would scribble in a pocket notebook such conduct as this in a man whose position corresponded with that of a common seaman on an ordinary vessel seemed contrary to discipline and good conduct and he mentioned the matter to mr gives i suppose the man is writing a letter to his wife said the latter he would not want to hinder him from doing that would you and to this no good answer would be made the pole never took notes when sammy was anywhere where he could see him and if mr marsy had reported this conduct to the old man it is likely that ravinsky would speedily have been deprived of pencils and paper and his real character made known to the officers one day it was observed by those who looked out of the window in the upper deck that the water above them was clearer than they usually saw it and when the electric lights in the room immediately under the window were turned out it was almost possible to discern objects in the room instantly there was a great stir on board the dipsy and observations soon disclose the fact that there was nothing above the vessel but water and air at first like an electric flash the thought ran through the vessel that they had reached the open sea which is supposed to surround the pole but reflection soon showed those who were cool enough to reflect that if this were the case that sea must be much larger than they had supposed for they were still a long way from the pole upon one thing however everybody was agreed they must ascend without loss of time to the surface of the water above them up went the dipsy and it was not long before the great glass in the upper deck admitted pure light from the outer world then the vessel rose boldly and floated upon the surface of the open sea the hatchways were thrown open and in a few moments nearly everybody on board stood upon the deck breathing the outer air and gazing about them in the pure sunlight the deck was almost flat and surrounded by a rail the flooring was wet and somewhat slippery but nobody thought of that they thought of nothing but the wonderful place in which they found themselves they were in a small lake surrounded by lofty and precipitous icebergs on every side these glittering crags rose high into the air nowhere was there a break or an opening they seemed to be in a great icy prison it might be supposed that it would be exhilarating to a party who had long been submerged beneath the sea to stand once more in the open air and in the light of day but this was not the case the air they breathed was sharp and cold and cut into throats and lungs now accustomed to the softer air within their vessel scarcely any of them hurrying out of the warm cabins had thought of the necessity of heavy wraps and the bitter cold of the outer air perceptibly chilled their blood involuntarily even while they were staring about them they hurried up and down the deck to keep themselves warm the officers puzzled their brains over this peculiar formation of this ice encompassed lake it seemed as if a great ice mountain had sunk down from the midst of its companions and had left this awful hole this however was impossible no law of nature would account for such a disappearance of an ice mountain mr. Gibbs thought under some peculiar circumstances a massive ice might have broken away and floated from its surroundings and that afterwards increased in size it had floated back again and too large to re-enter the opening it had made had closed up the frozen walls of this lonely lake accessible only to those who should rise up into it from the sea suddenly missus blocks stopped what is that she cried pointing to a spot in the icy wall which was nearest to the vessel instantly every eye was turned that way they saw a very distinct irregular blotch surrounded by almost transparent ice several glasses were now pulled upon this spot and it was discovered to be the body of a polar bear lying naturally upon its side as if asleep and entirely encased in ice it must have lain down to die on the surface of the ice said mr. Gibbs and gradually the ice has formed above it until it now rests in that vast funeral casket how long since he laid down there to die mr. Gibbs asked Sarah as she took the glass from her eye he looks as natural as if he was asleep I cannot say he answered it may have been hundreds even thousands of years ago oh horrible said Sarah all that makes me shiver and I am sure I don't need anything to make me do that I wish we could go down Sammy I would like to get out of this awful place with those dreadful glitter and walls that nobody could get up or over and things lying frozen for a thousand years and besides it's so cold it seemed as if Sarah's words had struck the keynote to the feelings of the whole company in the heart of everyone arose a strong desire to sink out of this cold bleak terrifying open air into the comfortable motherly arms of the encircling mortars for a few minutes captain Jim Hubble had experienced a sense of satisfaction at finding himself once more upon the deck of a vessel floating upon the open sea he felt that he was in his element and that the time had come for him to assume his proper position as a sailor but this feeling soon passed and he declared that his spine was like a long icicle don't you think we had better go down again said Sammy I think we have all seen enough of this and it isn't anything that any use can be made of you are right said mr. Gibbs let everybody go below but it was not easy for everybody to obey his command the wet decks were now covered with a thin surface of ice and those who had been standing still for a few moments found it difficult to release their shoes from the flooring of the deck while several of the men slipped down as they made their way to the forward hatch as for Sarah block she found it impossible to move at all her shoes were of a peculiar kind the souls being formed of thick felt and these having been soaked with water had frozen firmly to the deck she tried to make a step and almost fell over heavens and earth she screamed don't let this boat go down and leave me standing outside her husband and two men tried to release her but they could not disengage her shoes from the deck so Sammy was obliged to loosen her shoestrings and then he and another man lifted her out of her shoes and carried her to the hatchway when she very speedily hurried below everybody was now inside the vessel the hatches were tightly closed and the dipsy began to sink when she had descended to the comparatively temperature depths of the sea and her people found themselves in her warm and well-lighted compartments there was a general disposition to go about and shake hands with each other some of them even sang little snatches of songs so relieved were they to get down out of that horrible upper air of course I shall never see my shoes again said Mrs Block and they were mighty comfortable ones too I suppose when they have been down here a while in this water which must almost be lukewarmish compared to what it is on top they will melt loose and float up and then Sammy suppose they lodge on some of that ice and get frozen for a thousand years good gracious it sets me all of a creep to think of that happening to my shoes that I have been wearing every day don't you want a cup of tea it's a great pity thought Sammy to himself that it wasn't that pole that had his feet frozen to the deck the rest of us might have been lucky enough not to have noticed him as the boat went down we ought to get a name for that body of water up there said Mr Gibbs as he was writing out his report of the day's adventures we shall call it Lake Clue oh don't do that exclaimed Sammy Block miss the clues too good a man to have his name tacked on to that hole if you want to name it why don't you call it Lake Shiva that is a good name answered Mr Gibbs and so it was called end of chapter 10 the Great Stone of Sardis by Frank R Stockton this LibriVox recording is in the public domain chapter 11 they believe it is the polar sea with no intention of ascending again into any accidental holes in the ice above them the voyages on the dipsy kept on their uneventful way until upon the third day after the discovery of the lake the electric bell attached to the heavy lead which always hung suspended below the vessel rang violently indicating that it had touched the bottom this sound startled everybody on board in all their submarine experiences they had not yet sunk down low enough to be anywhere near the bottom of the sea of course orders were given to ascend immediately and at the same time a minor search light was directed upward through the deck skylight to the horror of the observers ice could plainly be seen stretching above them like an irregular gray sky here was a condition of things which had not been anticipated the bottom below and the ice above were approaching each other of course it might have been some promontory of the rocks under the sea against which their telltale lead had struck but there was an instrument on board for taking soundings by means of a lead suspended outside and a wire running through a waterproof hole in the bottom of the vessel and when the dipsy had risen a few fathoms and was progressing very slowly this instrument was used at frequent intervals and it was found that the electric lead had not touched a rock projecting upward and that the bottom was almost level mr gibbs instrument gave him an approximate idea of the vessel's depth in the water and the dial connected with the sounding apparatus told him hour by hour that the distance from the bottom as the vessel kept forward on the same plane was becoming less and less consequently he determined so long as he was able to proceed to keep the dipsy as near as possible at a median distance between the ice and the bottom this was an anxious time so long as they felt that they had plenty of sea room the little party of adventurers had not yet recognised any danger which they thought sufficient to deter them from further progress but if the ice and the bottom were coming together what could they do it was possible by means of explosives they carried to shatter the ice above them but action of this kind had not been contemplated unless they should find themselves at the pole and still shut in by ice they did not wish to get out into the open air at the point where they found themselves and moreover it would not have been safe to explode their great bombs in such shallow water a consultation was held and it was agreed that the best thing to do was to diverge from the course they had steadily maintained and try to find a deeper channel leading to the north accordingly they steered eastward it was not long before they found that they had judged wisely the bottom descended far out of the reach of their electric lead and they were enabled to keep a safe distance below the overhanging ice i feel sure said mr Gibbs that we came near running against some outreaching portion of the main western continent and now we have got to look out for the foundations of greenlands icy mountains he spoke truly for he wished to encourage his companions but there was a very anxious look upon his face when he was not speaking to anyone the next day everyone was anxious whether he spoke or was silent the bottom was rising again and the dips he was obliged to sail nearer and nearer to the ice above between two dangers constricted and trampled as they were none of them could help feeling the terrors of their position and if it had not been for the encouraging messages which continually came to them from sardis they might not have been able to keep up brave hearts after two days of most cautious progress during which the water became steadily shallower and shallower it was discovered that the ice above which they were now obliged to approach much more closely than they had ever done before was comparatively thin and broken in many places great cracks could be seen in here and there and movements could be discerned indicating that it was a flow or floating mass of ice if that were the case it was not impossible that they were now nearing the edge of the ice under which they had so long been sailing and that beyond them was the open water if they could reach that and find it the unobstructed sea which was supposed to exist at this end of the earth's axis their expedition was a success at that moment they were less than 100 miles from the pole whether the voyages on the Dipsy were more excited when the probable condition of their situation became known to them or whether Roland Clue and Margaret Rolly in the office of the works at Sardis were the more greatly moved when they received that day's report from the Arctic regions it would be hard to say if there should be room enough for the little submarine vessel to safely navigate between the ice which there was a good reason to believe was floating on the edge of the body of water they had come in search of and on whose surface they might freely sail what then was likely to hinder them from reaching the pole the presence of ice in the vicinity of that extreme northern point was feared by no one concerned in the expedition for it was believed that the rotary motion of the earth would have a tendency to drive it away from the pole by centrifugal force the little thermometer boat which during the submarine voyage of the Dipsy had constantly preceded her to give warning of the sunken base of some great iceberg was now drawn in close to the bow there was so much ice so near that its warnings were constant and therefore unneeded the electric lead line was shortened to the length of a few fathoms and even then at some time suddenly rang out its alarm after a time the bottom of the sea became visible through the stout glass of a protected window near the bow and a man was placed there to report what he could see below them it had now become so light that in some parts of the vessel the electric lamps were turned out fishes of considerable size appeared in the ice above and then to the great excitement of everyone the vessel slowly moved under a wide space of open water but the ice could be seen ahead and she did not rise the bottom came no nearer and the Dipsy moved cautiously on nobody thought of eating they did not talk much but at every one of the outlooks there were eager faces at last they saw nothing above them but floating fragments of ice still they kept on until they were plainly moving below the surface of open water then mr. Gibbs looked at Sammy I think it is time to rise said he and Sammy passed the word that the Dipsy was going up into the upper air when the little craft so long submerged in the quiet depths of the Arctic sea had risen until she rested on the surface of the water there was no general desire as there had been when she merged into Lake Shiva to rush upon the upper deck instead of that the occupants gathered together and looked at each other in a hesitating way as if they were afraid to go out and see whether they were really in an open sea or lying in some small ice-locked body of water mr. Gibbs was very pale my friends said he we are going on deck to find out whether or not we have reached the open polar sea but we must not be excited we must not jump to hurried conclusions we may have found what we are in search of and we may not have found it yet but we will go up and look out upon the polar world as far as we can see it and we shall not decide upon this thing or that until we have thoroughly studied the whole situation the engines are stopped and everyone may go up but i advise you all to put on your warmest clothes we should remember our experience at Lake Shiva it wouldn't be a bad idea said Sammy Block to throw out a lot of tarpaulins to stand on so that none of us will get frozen to the wet deck as happened before when the hatch was open a man with a black beard pushed himself forward towards the companion way keep back here sir said mr. Marcy clapping his hand upon the man's shoulder i want to be ready to spread the tarpaulins sir he said with a wriggling motion as if he would free himself you want to be first to see the polar sea that is my opinion said mr. Marcy but you keep back there where you belong and with that he gave the eager Ravinsky a staggering push to the rear five minutes afterwards Margaret Rowley and Rowland Clu sitting close together by the telegraph instrument in the works at Sardis received the following message we have risen to the surface of what we believe to be the open polar sea everybody is on deck but me it is very cold and a wind is blowing off to our left there are high mountains stretching westward as far as we can see they are all snow and ice but they look blue and green and beautiful from these mountains there comes this way a long cape with a little mountain at the end of it mr. Gibbs says this mountain which is about 20 miles away must be just about between us and the pole but it does not cut us off far out to the right as far as we can see there is open water shining in the sun so that we can sail around the Cape on the right and behind us southward are everlasting plains of snow and ice which we have just come from under they are so white that it dazzles our eyes to look at them in some places they are smooth and in some places they are tumbled upon on the very edge of the sky in that direction there are more mountains there are no animals or people anywhere it is very cold even inside the vessel my fingers are stiff now that we are out on the water in regular ship shape Captain Jim Hubble has taken command we are going to cruise northward as soon as we can get things regulated for outside sailing Samuel Block end of chapter 11 the Great Stone of Sardis by Frank R Stockton this Libre Vox recording is in the public domain Chapter 12 Captain Hubble takes command it was a high spirited and joyous party that the dips you now carried not one of them doubted that they had emerged from under the ice into the polar sea to the northeast they could see its waves shining listening all the way to the horizon and they believe that beyond the Cape in front of them these waters shone and glistened to the very north they breathed the polar air which as they became used to it was exhilarating and enlivening and they basked in the sunshine which although it did not warm their bodies very much cheered and brightened their souls but what made them happier than anything else was the thought that they would soon start direct for the pole on top of the water and with nothing in the way when captain Jim Hubble took command of the Dipsy the state of affairs on that vessel underwent a great change he was sharp exact and severe he appreciated the dignity of his position and he wished to let everybody see that he did so the men on board who had previously been workmen now became sailors at least in the eyes of captain Hubble he did not know much about the work that they had been in the habit of doing but he intended to teach them the duties of sailors just as soon as he could find any such duties for them to perform he walked about the deck with an important air and look for something about which he might give orders there were no masks or spas or shrouds or sheets but there were tarpaulins on the deck and these were soon arranged in semen-like fashion a compass was rigged up on deck and captain Hubble put himself into communication with the electric steersman it was morning when the Dipsy emerged from the sea although day and night were equally bright at that season and at 12 o'clock captain Hubble took an observation assisted by Sammy the result was as follows longitude 69 30 latitude 88 42 it strikes me said captain James Hubble that that latitude goes over anything ever set down by any skipper ancient or modern I should say so answered Sammy but that record won't be anything compared to what we are going to set down work went on very rapidly in order to get the Dipsy into regular notable condition and although it was out of his line captain Hubble made it a point to direct as much of it as he could the electric gills were packed as close to the side of the vessel as possible and the various contrivances for heating and ventilation when sailing in the open air were put into working order at four o'clock in the afternoon our party started to round the icy promontory ahead of them encouraged by our most hearty and soul-inspiring message from the hills of New Jersey it's all very fine said Sarah blocked to her husband for everybody on board to be talking about what a splendid thing this is to be sailing on the surface of the sea in the bright and beautiful air but I must say that I like a ship to keep quiet when I am on board of her I had a pretty bad time when I was coming up on the go lightly but she was big and didn't wobble like this little thing we went along beautifully when we were under the water with the floor just as level as if we were at home in a house and now I am not feeling anything like as well as I have been for my part I think it would be a great deal better to sink down again and go the rest of the way under the water I am sure we found it very comfortable and a great deal warmer Sammy laughed oh that would not do at all he said you can't expect the people on board this vessel to be willing to scoop along under the water when they have got a chance of sailing like Christians in the open air it's the sudden change that troubles you Sarah you'll soon get over it but Sarah was not satisfied the dipsy rolled a good deal and the good woman was frequently obliged to stop and steady herself when crossing the little cabin I feel said she as if I had had a Christmas dinner yesterday and somebody else had made the pies the dissatisfied condition of Mrs. Block had a cheering influence upon Captain Hubble when he heard of it by George said he it seems like good old times when I was young and there was women on board they all got a little seasick but nowadays with these ball and socket ships you never hear of that sort of thing a seasick woman is the most natural thing I have struck yet on this cruise Mrs. Block's uneasiness however did not last very long a few electric capsules of half an alternative volt each soon relieved her but her mind was still out of order she was not satisfied she had accustomed herself to submerged conditions and ordinary voyaging was very different it wouldn't surprise me she said if we should find that there wasn't any pole that's about the way things generally turn out in a few hours the dipsy had rounded the cape keeping well offshore in front was a clear sweep of unobstructed water with their telescopes they could see nothing on the horizon which indicated the presence of land if the sea should stretch out before them as they hoped and expected a sail of about 70 miles ought to bring them to the pole the dipsy did not go at full speed there was no hurry and as he was in absolutely unknown waters Captain Hubble wished to take no risks of sunken reefs or barely submerged islands soundings were frequent and they found that the polar sea at least that part over which they were sailing was a comparatively shallow body of water before they left sardis preparations had been made for an appropriate and permanent designation of the exact position of the northern end of the earth's axis if this should be discovered to be on solid land there was a great iron standard or column on board in detached parts with all appliances for setting it up firmly in the rocks or earth or ice but if the end of the said axis should be found to be covered by water of not too great depth a boy had been provided which should be anchored upon the polar point this boy was a large hollow aluminium globe from which a tall steel flag post projected upward to a considerable height bearing a light weather vane which when the boy should be in its intended position would always point southward no matter which way the wind might blow this great boy contained various appropriate articles which had been hermetically sealed up in it before it left sardis where it was manufactured all the documents books coins and other articles which are usually placed in the cornerstones of important buildings were put in this together with the names of the persons who had gone on this perilous expedition and those who had been its projectors and promoters more than this there was an appropriate inscription deeply cut into the metal on the upper part of the boy with a space left for the date of the discovery should it ever take place but the mere ceremony of anchoring a boy at the exact position of the pole was not enough to satisfy the conscientious ambition of Mr Gibbs he had come upon this perilous voyage with the earnest intention of doing his duty in all respects while endeavouring to make the great discovery of the age and if that discovery should be made he believed that his country should share in the glory and in the material advantage whatever that might be of the achievement consequently it was his opinion that if the pole should be discovered the discoverers should take possession of it in the name of their country everyone on board except Sarah Block who had something to say about the old proverb concerning the counting of chickens before they are hatched thought this a good idea and when the plan was submitted to Mr Clue and Mrs Rawley they heartily approved preparations were now made to take possession of the pole if they should reach it on the water on the after part of the deck a ring about three feet in diameter was marked and it was arranged that when they had ascertained by the most accurate observations and calculations the exact position of the pole they would so guide their vessel that this ring should be as nearly as possible directly over it then one of the party should step inside of the ring and take possession of the pole after this the boy would be anchored and their intended scientific observations and explorations would proceed it was supposed both on the Dipsy and at Sardis that Mr Gibbs would assume the honour of this act of taking possession but that gentleman declined to do so he considered that he would no more discover the pole if they should reach it then would his companions and he also believed that from a broad point of view Mr Rowland Clue was the real discoverer consequently he considered that the direct representative of the interests of Mr Clue should take possession and it was decided that Samuel Block should add the North Pole to the territory of his native land when this had been settled a very great change came over the mind of Sarah Block that her husband should be the man to do this great thing filled her with pride and alert enthusiasm Sammy she exclaimed when you are doing that you will be the greatest man in this world and you will stand at the top of everything suppose there should be a fellow standing on the South Pole said Sammy wouldn't he have the same right to say that he was on top of everything no said Sarah Sharply the way I look at it the North Pole is above and the South Pole is below but there ain't any other fellow down there so we needn't talk about it and now Sammy if you are going to take possession of the pole you ought to put on your best clothes for one thing you should wear a pair of those new red flannel socks that you haven't had on yet it will be a good way to christen them everything on you ought to be perfectly fresh and clean and just as nice as you've got this will be the first time that anybody ever took possession of a pole and you ought to look your very best I would ask you to shave because you would look better that way but I suppose if you took off your beard you would take cold in your jaws and I want you to stand up straight and talk as long about it as you can you are too much given to cutting off ceremonies mighty short as I remember was the case when you were stating your opinions about our wedding but I had my way then and I want to have it now you are going to be a big man Sammy and your name will go all over the world so you must screw yourself up to as much eminence as you think you can stand Sammy laughed well I will do what I can said he that is providing our chickens are hatched oh they'll come out all right said Sarah I haven't the least doubt of it now that you are to be the chief figure in the hatching shortly after the ordinary hour of for rising an order was issued by Captain Hubble and enforced by Samuel Block that no one should be allowed to come on deck who had not eaten breakfast there were those on board that vessel who would have stayed on deck during all the hours which should have been devoted to sleeping had it not been so cold there would probably be nothing to see when they reached the pole but they wanted to be on hand that they might see for themselves that there was nothing to see end of chapter 12 the Great Stone of Sardis by Frank R Stockton this LibriVox recording is in the public domain chapter 13 longitude everything the sun was as high in the polar heavens as it ever rises in that part of the world captain Hubble stood on the deck of the Dipsy with his quadrant in hand to take an observation the engines had been stopped and nearly everybody on the vessel now surrounded him longitude everything said Captain James Hubble latitude 90 which is as near as I can make it out my friends said Mr Gibbs looking about him we have found the pole and at these words every head was uncovered for some moments no one spoke but there was a look upon the faces of most of the party which expressed a feeling which was voiced by Sarah Block and yet said she speaking in a low tone there's nothing to see after all Captain Hubble's observations and calculations although accurate enough for all ordinary nautical purposes we're not sufficiently precise to satisfy the demands of the present occasion and Mr Gibbs and the electricians began a series of experiments to determine the exact position of the true pole the vessel was now steered this way and that sometimes backed and then sent forward again after about an hour of this zigzag work Mr Gibbs ordered the engine stopped now said he the ring on the deck is exactly over the pole and we may prepare to take possession at these words Samuel Block disappeared below followed by his wife that was an odd expression of yours Captain Hubble said Mr Gibbs when you said we had reached longitude everything it is correct of course but it had not struck me in that light of course it is correct said Captain Hubble the end of every line of longitude is right here in a bunch if you were a bird you could choose one of them and fly down along it to Washington or Greenwich or any other point you pleased longitude everything is what it is we've got the whole of them right under us now Samuel Block came on deck where everybody else on board soon gathered with a furled flag in his hand dressed in his best and cleanest clothes and with a large fur cloak thrown over his shoulders Mr Block advanced towards the ring on the deck near the compass but he was yet several yards from this point when a black figure crouching close to the deck issued from among the men a little in the rear of the party and made a dash towards the ring it was the pole Ravinsky who had been standing quivering with excitement waiting for this supreme moment but almost at the same instant they sprang from the sight of Mr Gibbs another figure with a face livid with agitation this was Mr Marcy who had noticed the foreigners excitement and had been watching him like a stone from a catapult Mr Marcy rushed towards Ravinsky taking a coarse diagonal to that of the latter and striking him with tremendous force just before he reached the ring he threw him against the rail with such violence that the momentum given to his head and body carried them completely over it and his legs following the man went headlong into the sea instantly there was a shout of horror Sarah Block screamed violently and her husband exclaimed that infernal pole he has gone down to the pole and I hope he may stay there what does all this mean Mr Marcy roared Captain Hubble and why did you throw him overboard never mind now Craig Sammy his voice rising above the confusion I will tell you all about it I see what he was up to he wanted to take possession of the pole in his own beastly name most likely I don't understand a word of all this exclaimed Mr Gibbs but there is the man he has risen to the surface shall we let him sink Craig Sammy or haul him aboard let him sink the old Captain Hubble what do you mean sir well I suppose it wouldn't do said Sammy and we must get him aboard Captain Hubble wrought out orders to throw out life preservers and lower a boat but remembering that he was not on board a vessel of the olden times he changed the order and commanded that a patent boat hook be used upon the man in the water the end of this boat hook which could be shot out like a fishing rod was hooked into Ravinsky's clothes and he was pulled to the vessel then a rope was lowered and he was hauled on board shivering and shaking take him below and put him in irons cried Sammy Mr Block said Captain Hubble I want you to understand that I am skipper of this vessel and that I am to give orders I don't know anything about this man but do you want him put in irons I do said Sammy for the present take that man below and put him in irons roared Captain Hubble and give him some dry clothes added Sarah Block when the confusion consequent upon the incident had subsided there was a general desire not to delay for a moment the actual act of taking legal possession of the pole they had discovered Sammy now advanced his fur cap in one hand and his flag in the other and took his position in the center of the circle for a few moments he did not speak but turned slowly around as if desirous of availing himself of the hitherto unknown privilege of looking southward in every direction I'm glad he remembers what I told him said Sarah he's making it last as long as he can as the representative of Rowland Clue Esquire said Samuel deliberately and distinctly I take possession of the North Pole of this earth in the name of united North America with these words he unfurled his flag with its broad red and white stripes and its seven great stars in the field of blue and stuck the sharp end of the flag stuff into the deck in the center of the circle it must be understood that at this time the seven great countries of North America Greenland Norland formerly British America British Columbia and Alaska Canada the United States Mexico Central America and West Indies were united under one confederated government and had one flag a modification of the banner of the dominant nation now said he to his companions this pole is ours and if anybody ever comes into this sea from Russia or Iceland or any other place they will find the North Pole has been preempted at this three hearty cheers were given by the assembled company who there upon put on their hats the rest of that day and part of the next were spent in taking soundings and very curious and surprising results were obtained the electric lead which rang the instant it touched the bottom show that the sea immediately over the pole was comparatively shallow while in every direction from this point the depth increased rapidly many interesting experiments were made which determined the character of the bottom and the varied deposits there upon but the most important result of the work of mr. Gibbs and his associates was the discovery of the formation of the extreme northern portion of the earth the rock bit of the sea was found to be of the shape of a flattened cone regularly sloping off from the polar point this peculiar form of the solid portion of the earth at the pole was occasioned mr. Gibbs believed by the rotary motion of the bottom of the sea which moved much more rapidly than the water above it thus gradually wearing itself away and giving to our earth that depression at the poles which has been so long known to geographers day after day the experiments went on but mr. Gibbs and his associates were extremely interested in what they were doing some of the rest of the party began to get a little tired of the monotony there was absolutely nothing to see except water and sky and although the temperature was frequently some degrees above freezing and became sometimes quite pleasant as they gradually grew accustomed to the outer arctic atmosphere those who had no particular occupation to divert their minds make frequent complaints of the cold there were occasional snow storms but these did not last long and as a rule the skies were clear but think Sarah said samuel block in answer to some of her complaints what it would be if this were winter and instead of being light all the time it was dark with the mercury way down at the bottom of the thermometer i don't intend to think of it at all replied sarah sharply do you suppose i am going to consent to stay here until the everlasting night comes on if that happened i would simply stretch myself out and die it's bad enough as it is but when i look out on the sun and think that it is the same sun that is shining on satis and on the house which i hope we are going to have when we get back i feel as if there was something up here besides you sammy that i'm accustomed to if it was not for you and the sun i could not get along at all but if the sun's gone i don't think you will be enough i wish they would plant that cornerstone boy and let us be off but by far the most dissatisfied person on board was the poll rovinsky he was chained to the floor in the hold and could see nothing nor could he find out anything sammy had explained his character and probable intentions to captain hubble who had their upon delivered to mr block a very severe lecture for not telling him before if i've got a scoundrel on board i want to know it and i hope this sort of thing won't happen again mr block i don't see how it can answered sammy and i must admit i ought to have told you as soon as you took command but people don't always do all they ought to do and as for telling mr gibbs i would not do that for his mind is rigged on a hairspring balance anyway it wouldn't do to upset him and what are we going to do with the fella said the captain now that i know what this poll is i wish i had let him go down to the other poll and stay there i thought so at first said sammy but i'm glad he didn't i'd hate to think of our glorious poll with that thing flopping on it at last all was ready to anchor the great boy and preparations were in progress for this important event when everybody was startled by a shout from mr marsy hello he cried what's that a sale where away shouted the captain to the south replied mr marsy and instantly everybody was looking in opposite directions but mr marsy's outstretched arm soon indicated to all the position of the cause of his outcry it was a black spot clearly visible upon the surface of the sea and apparently about two miles away quickly captain hubble had his glass directed upon it and the next moment he gave a loud cry it's a whale he shouted there's whales in this polar sea i thought she said whales were extinct sammy cried so did i replied the captain and so they are all in christian waters whoever could have imagined that we would have found him here serah block was so frightened when she found there was a whale in the same water in which the dipsy floated that she immediately hurried below with an indistinct idea of putting on her things in such a case as this it was time for her to leave but soon recognising the state of affairs she sat down in a chair through a shawl over her head and waited for the awful bump fortunately whales are soft she said to herself over and over again no one now thought of boys every eye on deck was fixed upon the exposed back of the whale and everybody speedily agreed that it was coming nearer to them it did come nearer and nearer and at one time it raised its head as if it were endeavoring to look over the water at the strange object which had come into those seas then suddenly it tossed its tail high into the air and sank out of sight it's a white whale cried mr hubble there's whales in this sea let's get through this boy business and go cruise and after him there was a great deal of excited talk about the appearance of the whale but this was not allowed to interfere with the business in hand a chain not very heavy but of enormous strength and of sufficient length to reach the bottom and give plenty of play was attached to an anchor of a peculiar kind it was very large and heavy made of iron and shaped something like a cuttlefish with many arms which would cling to the bottom if any force were exerted to move the anchor the other end of the chain was attached to the lower part of the boy and with powerful cranes the anchor was hoisted on deck and when everything had been made ready the boy which had had the proper date cut upon it was lowered into the water then the great anchor was dropped into the sea as nearly as possible over the pole the sudden rush downward of the anchor and the chain caused the boy to dip into the sea as if it were about to sink out of sight but in a few moments it rose again and the great sphere halfway out of the water floated proudly upon the surface of the polar sea then came a great cheer and missus block who having been assured that the whale had entirely disappeared had come on deck turned to her husband and remarked now sammy is there any earthly reason why we should not turn right around and go straight home the poles found and the places marked and what more is there for us to do but before her husband could answer her captain hubble lifted up his voice which was full of spirit and enthusiasm mess mates he cried we have touched at the pole and we have anchored the boy and now let us go wailin it's 30 years since i saw one of them fish and i never expected in all my born days i'd go a wailin the rest of the company on the dipsy took no very great interest in the wailin cruise but on consultation with mr clue and mrs roley at sardis it was decided that they ought by no means to leave the polar sea until they had explored it as thoroughly as circumstances would allow consequently the next day the dipsy sailed away from the pole leaving the boy brightly floating on the gently rolling sea its high uplifted weather vane glittering in the sun with each of its ends always pointing bravely to the south end of chapter 13 the great stone of sardis by frank r stockton this libra vox recording is in the public domain chapter 14 a region of nothingness in the office of the works at sardis side by side at the table on which stood the telegraph instrument margaret roley and roland clue receiving the daily reports from the dipsy had found themselves in such sympathy and harmony with the party they had sent out on this expedition that they too in fancy had slowly groped their way under the grim overhanging ice out into the open polar sea they too had stood on the deck of the vessel which had risen like a spectre out of the waters and in the cold clear atmosphere had gazed about them at this hitherto unknown part of the world they had thrilled with enthusiastic excitement when the ring on the deck of the dipsy was placed over the actual location of the pole they had been filled with anger when they heard of the conduct of rovinsky and their souls had swelled with a noble love of country and pride in their own achievements when they heard that they by their representative had made the north pole a part of their native land they had listened scarcely breathing to the stirring account of the anchoring of the great boy to one end of the earth's axis and they had exclaimed in amazement at the announcement that in the lonely waters of the pole wales were still to be found when they were totally unknown in every other portion of the earth but now the stirring events in the arctic regions which had so held and enthralled them day by day had after a time ceased mr gibbs was engaged in making experiments observations and explorations the result of which he would embody in carefully prepared reports and sammy's daily message promised to be rather monotonous roland clue felt the great importance of a thorough exploration and examination of the policy the vessel he had sent out had reached this here there too in accessible region but it was not at all certain that another voyage even of the same kind would be successful consequently he advised those in charge of the expedition not to attempt to return until the results of their work were as complete as possible should the arctic night overtake them before they left the policy this would not interfere with their return in the same manner in which they had gone north for in a submarine voyage artificial light would be necessary at any season so for a tune roland and margaret withdrew in a great measure their thoughts from the vicinity of the pole and devoted themselves to their work at home when roland clue had penetrated with his artesian ray as deeply into the earth beneath him as the photic power of his instrument would admit he had applied all the available force of his establishment the men working in relays day and night to the manufacture of the instruments which should give increased power to the penetrating light which he hoped would make visible to him the interior structure of the earth up to this time as unknown to man as had been the region of the poles roland had devoted a great deal of time to the arrangement of a system of reflectors by which he hoped to make it possible to look down into the cylinder of light produced by the artesian ray without projecting any portion of the body of the observer in the rain this had been done principally to provide against the possibility of a shock to margaret such as he received when he beheld a man with the upper part of his body totally invisible and a section of the other portion laid bare to the eye of a person standing in front of it but his success had not been satisfactory it was quite different to look directly down into that magical perforation at his feet instead of studying the reflection of the same indistinctly and uncertainly revealed by a system of mirrors consequently the plan of reflectors was discarded and roland determined that the right thing to do was to take margaret into his confidence and explain to her why he and she should not stand together and look down the course of the artesian rain she scolded him for not telling her all this before and a permanent screen was erected around the spot on which the ray was intended to work formed of vanishing blinds with fixed slats so that the person inside could readily talk and consult with the others outside without being seen by them as might well be supposed this work with the photic borer as clue now called his instrument was of absorbing interest for a day or two after it was again put into operation the apparent excavation had extended itself down so far that the disc at the bottom although so brightly illuminated was no longer clearly visible to the naked eye and was rapidly decreasing in size on account of the perspective but the telescopes which clue had provided easily overcame this difficulty he was sure that it would be impossible for his light to penetrate to a depth which could not be made clearly visible by his telescopes it was a wonderful and weird sensation which came over those who stood glass in hand and gaze down the track of the artesian ray far far below them they saw that illuminated disc which revealed the character of the stratum which the light had reached and yet they could not see the telescope which they held in their hands they could not see their hands they knew that their heads and shoulders were visible all observers except clue kept well back from the edge of the frightful hole of light down which they peered and once when the weight of the telescope which she held had caused Margaret to make an involuntary step forward she gave a fearful scream for she was sure she was going to fall into the boughs of the earth clue who stood always nearby with his hand upon the lever which controlled the ray instantly shut off the light and although Margaret was thus convinced that she stood upon commonplace ground she came from within the screen and did not for some time recover from the nervous shock occasioned by this accident of the imagination clue himself took a great pleasure in making experiments connected with the relation of the observer to the action of the artesian ray for instance he found that when standing and gazing down into the great photic perforation below him he could see into it quite as well as he shut his eyes as when they were open the light passing through his head made his eyelids invisible he stood in the very center of the circle of light and looked down through himself that this application of light which he had discovered would be of the greatest possible service in surgery role and clue well new by totally eliminating from view any portion of the human body so as to expose a section of said body which it was desirable to examine the interior structure of a patient could be studied as easily as the exterior and a surgeon would be able to dissect a living being as easily as if the subject were a corpse but clue did not now wish to make public the extraordinary adaptations of his discovery to the uses of the medical man and the surgeon he was intent upon discovering as far as was possible the internal structure of the earth on which he dwelt and he did not wish to interfere at present with this great and absorbing object by distracting his mind with any other application of his artesian ray it is not intended to describe in detail the various stages of the progress of the artesian ray into the subterranean regions sometimes it revealed strata colored red yellow or green by the presence of iron or sometimes it showed a short distance of glittering disc produced by the action of the light upon the deep sunken reservoir of water then it passed on hour by hour down down into the eternal rocks when the artesian ray had begun to work its way through the rocks Margaret became less interested in observing its progress nothing new presented itself it was one continual stony disk which she saw when she looked down into the shaft of light beneath her observation was becoming more and more difficult even to roll and clue and at last he was obliged to set up a large telescope on a stand and mount a ladder in order to use it day after day the artesian ray went downward always revealing rock rock rock the appliances for increased electric energy were working well and clue was entirely satisfied with the operation of his photic Bora one morning he came hurriedly to Margaret at her house and announced with glistening eyes that his ray had now gone to a greater degree into the earth than man had ever yet reached what have you found she asked excitedly rock rock rock he answered this little state of ours rests upon a firm foundation although Roland clue found his observations rather monotonous work he was regular and constant at his post and gave little opportunity to his steadily progressing cylinder of light to reach and pass unseen anything which might be of interest it was nearly a week after he had announced to Margaret that he had seen deeper into the earth than any man before him that he mounted his ladder to take his final observation for the night when he looked through his telescope his eye was dazzled by a light which obliged him suddenly to close it and lift his head at first he thought he had reached the fabulous region of eternal fire but this he knew to be observed and besides the light was not that of fire or heated substances it was pale colorless and although dazzling at first he found when very cautiously he applied his eye again to the telescope that it was not blinding in fact he could look at it as steadily as he could upon a clear sky but gaze as he would he could see nothing nothing but light subdued soft beautiful light he knew the ray was passing steadily downward for the mechanism was working with its accustomed regularity but it revealed to him nothing at all he could not understand it his brain was dazed he thought there might be something the matter with his eyesight he got down from the ladder and hurriedly sent for Margaret and when she came he begged her to look through the telescope and tell him what she saw she went inside the screen ascended the ladder and looked down it isn't anything she called out presently it looks like lighter air it can't be that perhaps there is something the matter with your telescope clue had thought of that and as soon as she came out he examined the instrument but the lenses were all right there was nothing the matter with the telescope that night Roland clue spent in the lens house almost constantly at the telescope but nothing did he see but a disc of soft white light the world can't be hollow he said to Margaret the next morning it can't be filled with air or nothing and my ray would not illuminate air or nothing I cannot understand it if you did not see what I see I should think I was going crazy don't talk that way exclaimed Margaret this may be some cavity which the ray will soon pass through and then we shall come to the good old familiar rock again but clue could not be consoled in this way he could see no reason why his ray acting upon the emptiness of a cavern should produce the effect he beheld moreover if the ray had revealed a cavern of considerable extent which he could not expect that it could now pass through it for the limit of its operation was almost reached his electric accumulators would cease to act in a few hours more the ray had now descended more than 14 miles its limit was 15 Margaret was greatly troubled because of the effect of this result of the light borough upon Roland his disappointment was very great and it showed itself in his face his artesian ray had gone down to a distance greater than had been sometimes estimated as the thickness of the earth's crust and the result was of no value Roland did not believe that the earth had a crust he had no faith in the old fashioned idea that the great central portion was a mass of molten matter but he could not drive from his mind the conviction that his light had passed through the solid portion of the earth and had emerged into something which was not solid which was not liquid which was in fact nothing all his labours had come to this he had discovered that the various strata near the earth's surface rested upon a vast bed of rock and that this bed of rock rested upon nothing of course it was not impossible that the arrangement of the substances which make up this globe was peculiar at this point and that there was a great cavern 14 miles below him but why should such a cavern be filled with a light different from that which would be shown by his artesian ray when shining upon any other substance open air or solid matter he could go no deeper down at least at present if he could make an instrument of increased power it would require many months to do it but i will do it he said to Margaret if this is a cavern and if it has a bottom i will reach it i will go on and see what there is beyond on such a discovery as i have made one can pass no conclusion whatever if i cannot go father i need not have gone down at all no said Margaret i don't want you to go on at least at present you must wait the earth will wait and i want you to be in a condition to be able to wait also you must now stop this work all together stop doing anything stop thinking about it after a time say early in winter we can recommend operations with the artesian ray that is if we think well to do so you should stop this and take up something else you have several enterprises which are very important and ought to be carried on take up one of them and think no more for a few months of the nothingness which is 14 miles below us it was not difficult for Roland Klu to convince himself that this was very good advice he resolved to shut up his lens house entirely for a time and think no more of the great work he had done within it but apply himself to something which he had long neglected and which would be a distraction and a recreation to his disappointed mind end of chapter 14 the great stone of cyrus by frankar stockton this libra vox recording is in the public domain chapter 15 the automatic shell in a large building not far from the lens house in which Roland Klu had pursued the experiments which had come to such a disappointing conclusion there was a piece of mechanism which interested its investor more than any other of his works accepting of course the photic borough this was an enormous projectile the peculiarity of which was that its most power was contained within itself very much as a rocket contains the explosives which send it upward it differed however from the rocket or any other similar projectile and many of its features were entirely original with Roland Klu this extraordinary piece of mechanism which was called the automatic shell was of cylindrical form 18 feet in length and four feet in diameter the forward end was conical and not solid being formed of a number of flat steel rings decreasing in size as they approach the point of the cone when not in operation these rings did not touch one another but they could be forced together by pressure on the point of the cone this shell might contain explosives or not as might be considered desirable and it was not intended to fire it from a cannon but to start it on its course from a long semi cylindrical trough which would be used simply to give it the desired direction after it had been started by a ram worked by an engine at the rear end of the trough it immediately began to propel itself by means of the mechanism contained within it but the great value of this shell lay in the fact that the moment it encountered a solid substance or obstruction of any kind its propelling power became increased the rings which formed the cone on its forward end were pressed together the electric motive power was increased in proportion to the pressure and thus the greater the resistance to this projectile the greater became its velocity and power of progression and its onward course continued until its self-containing force had been exhausted the power of explosives had reached at this period to so high a point that it was unnecessary to devise any increase in their enormous energy and the only problems before the students of artillery practice related to methods of getting their projectiles to the points desired progress in this branch of the science had proceeded so far that an attack upon a fortified port by armored vessels was now considered a thing of the past and although there had been no naval wars of late years it was believed that never again would there be a combat between vessels of iron or steel the recently invented magnetic shell made artillery practice against all vessels of iron a mere mechanical process demanding no skill whatever when one of these magnetic shells was thrown anywhere in the vicinity of an iron ship the powerful magnetism developed within it instantly attracted it to the vessel which was destroyed by the ensuing contact and explosion two iron clads meeting on the ocean need each to fire but one shell to be both destroyed the inability of iron battleships to withstand this improvement in artillery had already set the naval architects of the world upon the work of constructing warships which would not attract the magnetic shell which was effective even when laid on the bottoms of the harbors and Roland Clue had been engaged in making plans and experiments for the construction of a paper man of war which he believed would meet the requirements of this situation when Clue determined to follow Margaret Rawley's advice and give up for a time his work it with the artesian rate his thoughts naturally turned to his automatic shell work upon this invention was now almost completed but the great difficulty which its inventor expected to meet with was that of inducing his government to make a trial of it such a trial would be extremely expensive involving probably the destruction of the shell and he did not feel able or willing to experiment with it without governmental aid the shell was intended for use on land as well as at sea against cities and great fortified structures and Clue believed that the automatic shell might be brought within 50 miles of a city set up with its trough and ram and projected in a level line towards its subject to which it would impel itself with irresistible power and velocity through forests hills buildings and everything gaining strength from every opposition which stood in the direct line of its progress attacking fortifications from the sea the vessel carrying this great projectile could operate at a distance beyond the reach of the magnetic shell now that the automatic shell itself was finished and nothing remained to be done but to complete the great steel trough in which it would lie ronal clue found himself confronted with a business which was very hard and very distasteful to him he must induce other people to do what he was not able to do himself unless his shell was put to a practical trial it could be of no value to the world or to himself in one of the many conversations on the subject Margaret had suggested something which rapidly grew and developed in Rowland's mind it would be an admirable thing to tunnel mountains with said she of course I mean a large one as thick through as a tunnel ought to be in less than a day Clue had perfected an idea which he believed might be of practical service for some time there had been talk of a new railroad in this part of the state but one of the difficulties in the way was the necessity of making a tunnel or a deep cut through a small mountain to go around this mountain would be objectionable for many reasons and to go through it would be enormously expensive Clue knew the country well and his soul glowed within him as he thought that here perhaps was an opportunity for him to demonstrate the value of his invention not only as an agent in warfare but as a wonderful assistant in the peaceful progress of the world there was no reason why such shells should not be constructed for the express purpose of making tunnels nothing could be better adapted for an experiment of this kind than the low mountain in question if the shell passed through it at a desired point there would be nothing beyond which could be injured and it would then enter the end of a small chain of mountains and might pass onward as far as its motive power would carry it without doing any damage whatever moreover its course could be followed and it could be recovered both Roland and Margaret were very enthusiastic in favor of this trial of the automatic shell and they determined that if the railroad company would pay them a fair price if they should succeed in tunneling the mountain they would charge nothing should their experiment be a failure of course the tunnel the shell would make if everything worked properly would not be large enough for any practical use but explosives might be placed along its length which if desired would blow out that portion of the mountain which lay immediately above the tunnel and this great cut could readily be enlarged to any desired dimensions clue would have gone immediately to confer with the secretary of the railway company with whom he was acquainted but that gentleman was at the seaside and the business was necessarily postponed now said clue to Margaret if I could do it I'd like to take a run up to the policy and see for myself what they have discovered judging from Sammy's infrequent dispatches the party in general must be getting a little tired of mr. Gibbs's experiments and soundings but I should be intensely interested in them I don't wonder answered Margaret that they are getting tired they have found the pole and they want to come home that is natural enough but for my part I am very glad we can't run up there even if we had another dip see I should decidedly oppose it I might agree that we should go to Cape tariff but I would not agree to anything more you may discover poles if you want to but you must do it by proxy at this moment an awful crash was heard it came from the building containing the automatic shell clue and Margaret started to their feet they glanced at each other and then both ran from the office at the top of their speed other people were running from various parts of the works there was no smoke there was no dust there had been no explosion as clue had feared in his first alarm when they entered the building clue and Margaret stood aghast there was workmen shouting or standing with open mouths others were running in the massive scaffolding 20 feet in height on which the shell had been raised so that the steel trough might be run under it lay in sprinters upon the ground the great automatic shell itself had entirely disappeared for some moments no one said anything or stood astounded looking at the space where the shell had been then clue hurried forward in the ground amid the wreck of the scaffolding was a circular hole about four feet in diameter clasping the hand of a man near him he cautiously peered over the edge and looked down it was dark and deep he saw nothing roll and clue stepped back he put his hands over his eyes and thought now he comprehended everything clearly the weight of the shell had been too great for its support the forward part which contained the propelling mechanism was much heavier than the other end and had gone down first so that the shell had turned over and had fallen perpendicularly striking the ground with the point of the cone then it's tremendous propelling energy infinitely more powerful than any dynamic force dreamed of in the preceding century was instantly generated the inconceivably rapid motion which forced it forward like a screw must have then commenced and it had bored itself down deep into the solid earth roll and dear said margaret stepping quietly up to him tears on her pale countenance don't you think it can be hoisted up again i hope not he said he why do you say that she asked astonished because he answered if it has not penetrated far enough into the earth to make it utterly out of our power to get it again the thing is a failure more than that thought margaret if it has gone down entirely out of our reach the thing is a failure all the same for i don't believe he can ever be induced to make another end of chapter 15