The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1921-04-29

board bulWark, my servant Con
- sell beside me, when the voice OF
Ned Land, the big harpooner broke
the silence Look There is the
thing we are looking for!" he cried.
We all saw the sea monster, or
whatever it was, which we had been
hunting for months. 1t made off as
we charged. We gave chase. Through
out all that night and next day we
pursued. We stopped. 1t stopped.
Once it allowed US to creep close to
it; and as we crept it rammed us.
The shock of collision threw me into
the sea. I would have drowned but for
nv faithful Conseil. He supported me
TO the hard metallic back of the mon
ster. Here we were Joined by Ned
Land AS we were resting there, eight
masked men came through a hatch
and drew US down into the bowels of
what we now saw was not monster,
but strange kind of sea craft. Thus
began the strange voyage with that
remarkable character who called him
self Captain Memo, and in that strange
wonderful ship which he called the
Nautilus.
The Nautilus was a cigar-shaped
steel ship of 232 feet in length, 26 feet
beam and 1900 tons dead weight.
There were two hulls, one inside the
other joined by T-shaped irons, which
rendered them of almost uncrushabre
strength. She was driven by electric
engines of tremendous power. Tanks
which could be filed or emptied at
will enabled her to cruise on the sur
face or under the water as she pleased.
She was fitted with all kinds of
working and lounging quarters. In a
library were* books on the sciences,
morals, literature of almost every Ian
guage. There was a drawing room
with a luminous ceiling which served
also as q museum, and into which an
intelligent hand had gathered subma-
rine treasures of the world: the rarest
shells, pearls of all colors and beyond
price, every variety of undersea vege-
tation; also paintings of the masters,
bronze, great organ piano.
From the inside of her a staircase
led to a platform or deck from which
rose two cages, partly enclosed by
helmsman, the other contained an cleo
trio searchlight to light the course
Of the ship in dark waters. On this
platform also was place wherein was
stored a long-boat.
Captain Memo was tall and robustly-
built, with pale skin, lofty brow, and
the fine taper hands of a highly nerv-
GUS temperament. He spoke French,
English, German, Latin, all equally
well. He may have been thirty-five,
he may have been fifty years old.
It was on November 6, 1865, with
the coast of Japan in view, that this
strange captain told US we were pris-
oners for him to do with as he pleased.
"And now" he added, "our course is
e. n. E. and our cruising depth &c
fathoms. I leave you to the resources
of these quarters and your own re-
Elections"
We remained mute, not knowing
what surprise awaited US. Suddenly a
that only glass panels separated us from
a sea which was Illuminated far tC
either SIDE by the powerful electric
CLEANS from the ship. What a spec
tacle! An army of undersea creatures
escorted us. They were various and
beautiful in the clear water, many
known. but hundreds unknown to us.
We heard and saw nothing OF tbs
captain for several days; then came
4 note inviting US to a hunt on the
bottom IF the sea. We dOnned diving
TuitS, then fastened On q sort of KNAPP
sack which furnished us not only Nitii
air to breathe, but with the light 10
see our way. We carried air-gunS
which fired lass bullets heavily charg-
ed with electricity. which had only tc
touch the most powerful animal @ XII
him. A connecting compartment filled
with water let us into the sea. And
tlluS eQulppGu, HaulhS oii IAio DoIt"'
of the clear ocean, we killed our gam:
with ease and without danger.
That hunt was but the first of the
wonders of the cruise. Onward w"
rushed, sometimes on the surface,
sometimes under the sea. There was
our fight with the immense devii-tlSll
which once in a huge school enmeshed
the Nautilus. There was the visit 10
a wonderful pearl fishery, where Cap
tain Memo showed US I mOllusc with
in whose jaws was a pearl weighing
perhaps 500 pounds. Some day M
would return and pluck that treasure,
but not yet-every year was adding 10
its value. We visited the skeletons of
long-sunken ships, the corpses of the
Il OF al norinrr the hnlIG