The Climax-Madisonian. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1914-1917, 1915-08-18

Barton sat at the tabIe-the log
outspread before him-painfully. yet
painstakingly, inscribing the record.
His own message had been written
a farewell to life and to her for whom
he most cherished it. When at length
he raised his eyes from the page. they
wavered ever SO slightly as he adj
dressed the old boatswain.
What shall l say, Marsh?" The
words came palpitatingly as he strug-
gled for breath. I'D better have it
now-in time"
The boatswain was at the valve
controlling the lever with fingers
agitated as the indicator itself. His
throat muscles gripped spasmodieally
at the question, and he seemed about
to fall. When he turned, his eyes
held a look of longing so unutter-
able, yet withal so hopeless, that Rolf
and Corrigan with common impulse
glanced away, and Barton clenched his
fist until the penholder snapped in
two.
Tell Mary" Marsh fingered falter-
ingly over the name, SAY l didn't
think the old cottage at home was
good enough. for her; so I'm going to
get better one promised us yonder.
Tell her I'll keep it waiting, as she
did for me, and that I'll try not to
mind her not coming for while"
The old mans voice failed, and he
pressed his face against the wall to
hide his feelings.
The broken holder shook in the
writing and paused long moment at
the end, while Barton summoned the
reserve of his stole will to help him
at his task. Ere the lieutenant looked
toward him, Corrigan' full-feshed
face had sagged lumpily, till his eyes
seemed drawn and misshapen. Rolls
eyes, as he swayed on the edge of
bunk, again held that uncanny impress
sion of illimitability.
With his underjaw driven forward
so that the teeth clasped his upper lip
and deep hollows showed before his
ears, he seemed lost in the mazes of
some intricate problem. AS Corrigan
started to speak the ensign suddenly
rose to his feet.
in. whisper which literally snarled
through the room. Then his voice
climbed in raucous crescendo to the
volume of a Shrek, I'VE sha'n't die"
He stood like some young Roman
orator spellbound by the eIoquence
of his own thought.
Great God, 1 have it," He spoke
with the awesome deliberation of a
seer from the depths of his trance
1--WE can make air" And at the words
he crumpled Imply to the floor.
Barton was by his side instantly
shaking him roughly, savagely, while
he fought back a hope that he dared
not trust.
What do you mean, Dick? Come
speak! Make air? Man, are you
mad?' he cried as he tugged at the
PROSTATE form with all his failing
strength.
Yes! Air oxygen - life!" the
ensign muttered. He sat up IN
steadily. "At the academy-remem-
Der? The acid and the batteriesi We
decomposed water. There's enough in
the tank till we raise the pressure
then we'll get oceans of it."
He swung his arms above his head
-dramatically-a bit wildly, while
Barton himself almost collapsed as his
mind flew back to his training-school
chemistry and the experiment of long
before.
Notwithstanding the ends of
two current-charged wires into water,
salt or fresh, tinctured weakly with
sulphuric acid, beyond question, would
separate the liquid into the oxygen
and hydrogen of which it is composed.
One part of the first to two of the
latter would be the proportion; and
single cubic foot of the water would
produce 1000 feet of the gas.
For an instant thought of the fatal
effect of pure oxygen struck the lieu
tenant cold.
To make it respirable in the air it is
diluted with three times it's volume of
nitrogen. Then he reflected that n.y.
drogen is also inert and harmless to
breathe and it's ratio would be suffi-
GENTLY large. Corrigan's act in sub
shutting lead-oxid battery plates for
the iron weights of the balance-trough
now appealed to him as nothing short
of providential.
.'Unbelievablei" he cried as he be-
gan to gather together all the glass
Leyden-jars they had; "yet-thank
God-so true-so truei"
Their reprieve was barely in time;
and the lieutenant and Rolf went at
the preparations feverishly, while
Marsh and Corrigan watched dumbly.
scarcely compromising the vital
sweep of events.
And when at last the first tiny bub-
bles began to rise through the water
like the effervescence of some Jovian
wine, no Ponce de Leon arrived at his
quested Fountain of Youth could have
matched the wild cry which sprang
from the lips of Barton and Rolf. For
to them it was life, spelled in 65-foot
letters that reached to the top of the
sea.
A box of caustic soda used for cor
roding parts, was found; and its con-
tents scattered about the room served
to absorb much of the carbonic gas.
AS the pressure rose further means
of disposal was recalled by Rolf. The
balance-trough was filed with water,
and it gradually became charged with
the gas. At the end of a week the
paragraph showed that it would be
safe to open a port to get in touch
with the world above.
When no bottles were found in the
medicine chest of size to be reason
ably seen on the waves, and when the
other men failed to make any of the
empty food-cans floating tight. 1t was
Corrigan who hit upon the expedient
of using the oiled-silk cases in which
the torpedoes were wrapped.
They spread out the folds of these
with their breath and securely tied