The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-08-06
PART I.

The lieutenant stood in front OF the
steel sphere and gnawed piece of pine
splinter. ''What do you think of it
Steevens?" he asked.
"It's an idea" said Stevens, in the
tone of one who keeps an open mind.
II believe il will smash-hat," said
the lieutenant.
"He seems TO have calculated il all
out pretty WELL" said Stevens, still i'm
partial.
''But think of it's PRESSURE" said the
lieutenant. AT the surface of the
water it's fourteen pounds TO the inch;
thirty feet down it's double that; sixty,
treble; ninety, four times; nine hun
dred, forty times; five thousand, three
hundred--that's a mile--its two hun.
dred and forty times fourteen pounds;
that's-let's see-thirty hundredweight
Ia ton and half, Stevens, a ton an d
half to the square inch. And the
ocean where he's going is five miles
deep. That's seven and half"
Sounds lot" said Stevens, "but
IT'S jolly thick steel"
The lieutenant made no answer, but
resumed his pine splinter. The object
of their conversation was n huge globe
of steel having an exterior of perhaps
twenty feet. It looked like the shot
for some Titanic piece of artillery. II
was elaborately nested in a monstrous
scaffolding built into the framework
of the vessel and the gigantic spars
that were presently to sling Ii over
board gave the stern of the ship an APP
pearance that had raised the curiosity
Of every decent sailor who had sighted
IL, from the pool Of London to the
tropic of Capricorn. In two places,
one above the other, the steel gave place
TO couple of circular windows of enor-
mously thick glass, and one of these,
set in a steel frame OF great solidity,
was now partially unscrewed. Both the
men had seen the interior of this globe
for the first time that morning. IL
was elaborately padded with air cush-
ions, with little studs sunk between
bulging pillows, TO work the simple
mechanism of the affair. Everything
was elaborately padded, even the Myers
apparatus which was 10 absorb car
bonic acid and replace the oxygen in
spired by its tenant when he had crept
in by the glass manhole and had been
screwed in. 1t was so elaborately
padded that man might have been
fired from gun in IL with perfect safe
tv. And il had TO be, for presently
MN was to crawl in through that glass
manhole, to be screwed mp tightly and
10 be flung overheard and to sink down,
down, down, for five miles, even as the
lieutenant said. 1t had taken the
strongest hold of his imagination; il
made him bore at mess, and he found
Stevens, the new arrival on boards
n godsend to talk to about 1t over and
over again.
ITS my opinion" said the lieutenant,
"tlat that glass will simply bend in
and bulge and smash under pressure
of that sort. Daubree has made rocks
rrn like water under big pressures--
and you mark my words"
If the glass did break in," said
Stuevens, "what then?"
"'rhe water would shoot in like jet
OF iron. Have you ever felt straight
jet of high-pressure water? 1t would
hit nB hard as q bullet. Itwould simply
smash him and flatten him. 1t would
tear down his throat and into his lungs;
Il would blow in his ears"
"Nyhat detailed imagination you
hn,c!" protested Stevens. who saw
things wildly.
les a simple statement of the in
cvitable." said the lieutenant
90 nd the globe?"
would just give out a few little bub-
Hes. aud IL would settle down comfort
rlly against the day of Judgment,
among the oozes and the bottom lay
--wlth poor Elstead spread over his
c';n smashed cushions like butter over
lrpail."
lie repeated this sentence az though |
lc liked IL very much. Like butter
over bread" he said.
"Iaving a look at the Jigger?" said n
voice behind them, and Elstead stood |
lrhind them. spick and span, in white,
with cigarette between his teeth, and