Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1909-02-13
CHAPTER xIII.-continued.


as the president held them, wondering
what connection the two little strips
of metal could possibly have with the
defense of a nation against multi
tude of battle ships. Nothing but Rob
ers' known ability prevented them
from looking upon him as a crank
They inspected the objects before
them in turn, passing them from hand
to hand with blank looks. Only the
secretary of war, who in his earlier
years had been a metallurgist, showed
any signs OF surprise or amazement
He turned excitedly away and crossed
the room to a side light, against which
glare he held the little plate, staring
at It fixedly. The inventor smiled, and
the others renewed their interest. The
secretary hurried back.
What on earth is it, DR.. Roberts,
he asked and then without waiting
for an explanation continued: Il never
saw metal that looked or felt like
1t. What is it,"
Gentlemen said the inventor. re
covering the slab and balancing it in
his hands, that is a new plate that
can be made cheaply and quickly. II
It does what the laboratory tests show
It will, when applied to cruisers which
can now steam 20 knots an hour. make
SO knots an easy gait for them"
There was a gasp of astonishment
amounting almost to incredibly
among those who crowded round, and
the scientist, enjoying the effect of his
words, smiled and smoked A mo-
ment's pause ensued while the pos
sibilities Of the discovery dawned on
them. Those who knew him least were
again questioning his sanity, and then
as IL all at once they could wait nc
longer for him to explain, they burst
into chorus Of questions, which he
did not answer. He waited until nc
voice was heard, and then began.
THAT plate practically overcomes
friction. My assistant, my daughter
Norma, and have made several tests
before l came here with it. These
wer" cast and tested last night. l am
not going into scientific details; but
this much I'll mako plain: A ship
coated along certain lines with that
metal. electrified only to q point where
she would not sink for lack Of support
can reduce her skin friction caused
by the water to a point where her
speed would be something hitherto un
known. 1t would, of course, mean
lighter ornaments, because the light
er the dead tonnage the greater the
buoyancy. But cruiser with q few
long -1nge, high explosive guns, that
can travel at the rate Of 40 or SO
miles sn hour or submarine that
can make that speed for 81 hours at
stretch, would play havoc with any
navy in the world"
The room was alive with excited
men now as the full force of his state
ment came in all its clearness. II
that unknown metal had that proper.
ty, and sufficient fighting ships could
be armored with it in time TO meet the
demands made upon them, the seas
would be whipped into subsection and
legions OF troops transported before
they could be interfered with The
president himself had lost his calm.
ness and was gripping the arms of his
chair. The secretary of the navy,
having the practical point of view
came out of his trance, and snapped
out a question:
How long would it take to equip a
cruiser with those plates?"
Roberts turned toward him. dc.
ponds on the plant. The pl-tes can be
cast and electrified just as rapidly as
you could cast sheets of plain iron
and turn a current into them; but |
wish to experiment n little further
first and try them out on some old gun.
boat that wouldn't amount to much If
lost"
The room was again filed with n
babel of sound, as the officials began
an argument: but on one point they
we're agreed. The man before them
was so well known that the govern.
ment was taking no great hazard in
sffording him every means within its
power to carry out his work. and, II
he could do what he believed, and OF