The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1901-10-10

haleS. Among tue ptSSenSelS WAS
man of 90 or thereabouts, Martin Bruc
by name, a heavy-set individual. with
huge black beard plentifully streaked wit
gray, and a face that was anything bu
attractive.
At the first sight of the follow mad
up my mind that l did not like him, bu
his quiet and mObtrusiye ways served t
disarm my aversion as | came to know
him better. Then, one is not likely to b.
over choice regarding acquaintance dur
ing a long and tedious voyage; so my &C
quaintance with this disagreeable passen
ger grew into something like friendship
as the day went by.
He had once been a sailor, l inferred
from his talk, and something of a scien
tific turn of mind. for he frequently spoke
of the sea, of ships, but especially did hi
dwell on the deep-sea sOundings that haC
then been recently made in the South
Pacific. Or this he seemed to have made
an especial study. but disapproyed of the
methods employed.
Those soundingS have always been the
work of botches.' he would declare, "a
clumsy lot of amateurs in the art, who
hardly know enough to let down a line
and if they happen to bring up bit OF
abysmal slime, a speck of coral or a
bunch of sea-weed, they consider them
selves to have achieved a great success
1 have plan of my own" he went on to
say one day, when he was talking of the
subject, land the time will come when
shall give to the world the first authentic
information it has ever had regarding the
deepest ocean beds"
l gave little heed to what. he said on the
subject, for | had grown to consider him
a sort of enthusiast, full of airy dreams
of the impossible.
One evening he called me into his
cabin. saying he was lonesome, and
wanted, some one to talk to. He pro-
duced some good cigars and wine, and
after we had drank the wine and lit our
cigars, he drifted into his favorite sub
Ject, the sounding of the sea.
1T is all very plain" he began, that
with the present method of sounding,
nothing but disappointment can follow.
With four or five miles of line running
out, TO be carried far from the perpen-
dicular by the currents and movements of
the vessel, it is useless to think of arriv-
ing at anything like the true depth of the
ocean. Now, my plan, as you shall see,
is a most simple one. | shall use no line
but simply machine of steel in the form
of a cylinder, which will be supplied with
an automatic register, which will give a
measurement of the depth by the pressure
exerted by the water. This machine,
when perfected, will need only to be
pitched over the ships side, when it will
go straight to the bottom of the sea, and
from the registered pressure the depth
can easily be computed.
But you may ask how | will be able
to recover the machine. That is very
simple. On the inside will be a small
contriyance run by spring like the works
of a clock. This, at the proper time, will
cause an explosion of gases placed there
in for that purpose. This will move the
slides and so expand the machine that it
VIII Immediately rise to the surface.
But this is not all. The explosion of
gases will set off a powerful flash light,
and at the same time cause four photo
graphs of the bottom of the sea to be
taken. 1t is easy to see what an i'm
prOvement this will be over old methods.
Pesides. there are other Improvements |
shall add to the machine from time to
time, after the first experiment, and in
the end | think we shall be able to know
quite as much about the bottom of the
great oceans as we now know about the
surface of land.
But before | began my experiments
shall have TO make few practical tests
and in order to do this l must have the
assistance of some competent person. 1t
will be necessary, | find, to have some
one 90 down in the machine when my
first experiment is made, and | know of
no better person for this work than your
SELF
Il think 1 should rather be excused" 1
smiled.
But can't afford to let you off," he
persisted. You must go down in my
sounding cylinder to the bottom of the
sea-"
Il hardly think l should care to take
such hazardous trip" l replied, sup
posing he had only spoken in jest.
oh, l shall manage that he said in
a careless manner. Whenever | am
ready you will CO."
As he spoke he drew a long box from
the corner of his state room, and lifting
the lid, began to remove sundry articles
therefrOm.
There was something in the mans man
ner and glance that gave me an unpleas-
ant sensation. Gradually the thought
came to me that there was something
wrong with him-that he was not in the
full possession of his mental faculties.
This thought soon merged into absolute
conviction. | now attempted to rise, but
as l did so | found to my utter amaze
ment that | could not move from my seat.
l was conscious of a benumbed feeling in
my limbs, accompanied by a sort of
drowsiness. Had L been drugged, and
by mad MANI The thought sent a chill
through me, and again | attempted to
rise, but sank back helpless.
Bruce looked at me and smiled
The drug l gave you in that wine"
he said IN cool, easy way that sent
cold chill to my heart, sis one of my own
discoveries. 1t is the greatest hypnotic
the world has ever known, and It will
some day make me famous 1t renders
the patient insensible to pain and in
capable OF movement, yet the mental
faculties are entirely Free except for a
slight drowsiness. which passes off with
the secondary effect"
If | had had any doubt as TO the mans
sanity, this speech would have served to
dissipate it entirely from my mind
L was helpless in the hands of a mad
man. The thought sent cold chill to my
very heart. i tried to cry out, but to my
horror l found that could speak scarce
ly above a whisper
There is no need of exciting Yourself -
he said in his cool diabolical manner.
i sat silent, aghast, nameless horror
coming over me. | watched him as he
removed the articles from the box. AT
length my energy began to come back to
me. knowing the valCa of gaining time, |
decided 10 draw him into conversation,
And this is the machine you were
speaking Off i asked, casting my eyes
in the direction of the box.
"oh, no" he replied. This is only a
box had to carry some surveyors instru- |
ments in, but it will serve for first ex-
pertinent as well as anything else"
But surely you would not expect one |
TO go down to the bottom of the sea in an |
old coffin like that?" / said, thinking II |
best TO humor his fancy in order to gain
time. DO you not see that you have
provided no window through which II