The Washington times., 1912-03-29
CHAPTER XXI1.-(Continued1

A one OF the turtles slid toward
"A the bottom of the steps or
4 which Cosmo was clinging II
cut under the legs of one OF
the giant turkeys, and the latter
making a superphasianidaean effort
half leaped, half tapped its way upon
the steps to the side of Cosmo Versal
embracing him with one of its stumpy
wings. while its red neck and head with
bloodshot eyes, swayed high above his
bald dome
The keepers gradually made their way
round the gallery to Cosmos side, and
he indicated to them by signs that they
must quit the place with him, and wait
for lull in the tempest before trying
TO do anything for their charges.
A few hours later the wind died
down; and then they collected all that
remained alive of the animals in their
pens and secured them as best they
could against the consequences of an
other period of rolling and pitching.
The experiences of the passengers had
been hardly less severe, and panic
reigned throughout the Ark. After the
lull came. however, some degree of order
was restored, and Cosmo had all who
were in a condition to leave their rooms
assemble in the grand saloon, where he
informed them of the situation of al
fairs, and tried to restore their conf
dence. The roar on the roof, in spite
of the sound absorb bing cover which had
been Ie-erected, compelled him to use
trumpet.
Il do not conceal from you," he said
In conclusion, that the worst has now now
arrived. l do not look for any cessation
of the food from the sky until we shall
have passed through the nucleus of the
nebula. But the Ark is a stout vessel.
we are fully provisioned' and we shall
get through.
"All your chambers have been spe'
cially padded. as you have remarked
and wish you to remain IN them, only
issuing when summoned for assembly
here. A.
II shall call you out whenever the
condition of the sea renders it safe for
You to leave your rooms. FOOD VIII DC
regularly served in your quarters, and
I beg you to have perfect confidence In
me and my assistants.
But the confidence which Cosmo Yer
sal recommended to the others was
hardly shared by himself and Captain
Arms. The fury of the blast which had
Just left them had exceeded everything
that Cosmo had anticipated, and he saw
that, in the face of such hurricanes, the
Ark would be practically unmanageable
One of his first cares was to ascertain
the rate at which the downpour was
raising the level of the water. This,
too, surprised him His gauges showed
time after time, that the rainfall was at
the rate of about four inches per min
ute. Sometimes 1t amounted to as much
as six!
ing tube which they had arranged for
their interCommunications on the bridge,
us denser than l had supposed. The
condensation is enormous, but it is ir-
regular, and l think II very likely that
It is more rapid in the north, where the
front of the globe is plunging most di-
rectly into the nebulous mass.
From this we should anticipate a tre-
mendous flow southwark, which may
sweep us away in that direction. This
will not be a bad thing for a while,
since 1t is southwark that we must go
in order to reach the region of the In
dian ocean. But, in order not to be car
ried too rapidly that way, l think 1t
would be well to point the Ark toward
the northeast"
How am I to know anything about
the points In this blaCkness?" growled
the captain.
You must go the best you can by the
compass" said Cosmo.
Cosmo Versal, as subsequently ap-
peared, was right in supposing that the
nucleus of the nebula was exceedingly
Irregular in density. The condensation
was not only much heavier in the north,
but II was very erratic.
Some parts of the earth received a