Part 3 (1/2)
Just clear of the head of the co up one side of the pilot-house was another light staircase of open grid-work leading to the floor above, which, at a height of seven feet, spanned the building froridwork, affording easy verbal co the different stories in the pilot-house Through this open grid-floor could be seen various apparatus, the objects of which the new-comers were naturally anxious to learn; and to this floor the professor accordingly led his companions up the staircase
The first object to which he directed attention was a long straight bar of aethereum handsomely moulded into the form of a thick cable, and finished off at the outer end with the semblance of a ”Matthew Walker”
knot This bar issued at its inner end fro which extended down through both floors of the pilot- house, presu the mechanism hich the bar was obviously connected
”This,” said the professor, laying his hand on the bar, ”is the steering apparatus--the tiller as you call it--of the shi+p It moves, as you see, in all directions, and co movement to the propeller--as you h one of those s”
The trio immediately did so, and saw, as the professor had stated, that with every ht or left, up or down, the propeller inclined itself at a corresponding angle A handsome binnacle compass stood immediately in front of the tiller, but the professor did not call attention to it, rightly assu that his companions were fully acquainted with its use and purpose
On the professor's right, as he stood at the tiller, was an upright lever working in a quadrant, and co, like the tiller--and indeed all the other apparatus--with the interior of the shi+p
”This,” said the professor, directing attention to the lever, ”is the lever which controls the valves of the ed it exactly like the corresponding lever in a locoines reines will turn ahead And thrown backward, thus, they will turn astern That is si attention to a dial on his left hand which stood facing hile hand which was obviously intended to travel over a carefully graduated arc of ninety degrees painted on the dial-face, and which, in addition to the graduations, was marked in the proper positions with the words ”Stop;” ”Quarter speed;” ”Half speed;” ”Full speed;” and also with two arrows pointing in opposite directions marked ”On” and ”Off” respectively Just beneath the dial was a s from one of its spokes, and on this crank-handle the professor now laid his hand
”This,” he said, ”regulates the valve which adine; and the dial-hand shows the extent to which the valve is opened
Turn the wheel in the direction of the arrow ine You will observe that, as I turn the wheel, the hand on the dial travels over the arc and indicates the extent to which the valve is open There; now it is fully open, and the cylinders are full of vapour” Then he quickly reversed the wheel and sent the index hand back to ”Stop,” keeping a wary eye on his cos to ines are of one hundred thousand horse-power; and, full as the shi+p now is of air at the at the ground and through all obstacles Ithat none of you will meddle with the machinery until you are fully acquainted with its tre affair, professor?” asked the colonel, pointing to a pendulu in a shallow basin-like depression thickly studded with needle-points which the pendulum just cleared by a hair's-breadth
”That,” explained the professor, ”is a device for auto the balance, or 'tri in the air You will readily understand that when freed of air, and thus deprived of weight, as it were, the e her equilibriu from side to side, or from one end of the deck to the other, would very seriously incline her froht, possibly with disastrous results; so I have devised this little apparatus to prevent all that This pendulum, as you see, is so delicately poised that it will instantly respond to the slightest deviation fro over one of these needle-points, will send an electric current to the air-pu it to promptly inject a sufficient quantity of air into the proper chamber to restore the equilibriuht of the shi+p in an upward or a doard direction, I have so arranged ear when the tiller is sloped in either direction out of the horizontal; and as we shall not require it when the shi+p is on or below the surface of the ocean, I have here provided a s which inwards the apparatus can also be thrown out of gear until it is again wanted”
”Excellent!” exclairatulate you, professor, on your truly wonderful forethought And what is this, pray?”
”That,” said the Ger lever of the air-pump
When ant to sink into the depths of the ocean, I thrust this lever over--so; and the puins to pump air into the air- chambers”
”_Out_ of them, I suppose you mean,” interrupted the baronet
”_Into_ them, I mean,” insisted the professor ”Youthe baronet's look of astonishht_ Feathers are light; but you htly into a receptacle as to hty; and so is it with air: the iven size the heavier youapparatus and your receptacle are strong enough to endure the treh air into the receptacle to sink it And that is precisely e shall do; we shall force air into our air-cha, and we shall then close the valves, stop the air-pu the sea-cocks of the water-chah into the shi+p to send her to the bottom like a stone”
”Well! you astonish asped the baronet ”This is the first ti her with air And then the cool way in which you talk of our 'sinking to the bottom like a stone!' I undertook this enterprise because I wanted to experience a new sensation; and it appears to ood o on with your explanations,several leversone side of the pilot-house, ”are the levers opening and closing the valves of the air and water chambers, and need no further description This,” he continued, pointing to a s out of the top of it, ”is the apparatus for firing our torpedo shells”
The baronet glanced ed his shoulders expressively, as who should say, ”What next?”
The colonel and the lieutenant nodded approvingly, however, and the latter said:
”That is capital, professor; we ought to have the inning to fear you had overlooked thatof the kind But where is your torpedo port? you omitted to point that out to us ere under the shi+p's botto to show,” replied the professor; ”and I can explain the matter just as well up here as I could have done ere down below The conical point which forms the extreme forward end of the shi+p is solid and movable Under ordinary circumstances it remains firmly fixed in position; but when it becomes necessary to fire a torpedo-shell the solid point is rooved tube for a certain distance; the shell is then placed in the tube and fired, when the solid point follows it out and becoain securely fixed in its fore guns which can be worked through ports in the dining-saloon, and six wonderful azine rifles invented by a Mr Maxim, a friend of mine
They are perhaps the most wonderful pieces of mechanism in the shi+p, for when the first shot has been fired they will go on firing themselves at theas you keep thees Then I have also provided an auns and rifles, swords, pikes, pistols, and in fact everything we are likely to require for the purposes of sport or defence These s the electric lamp in the lantern on the top of the pilot-house and those in the bow and stern of the shi+p And that is all to which I think I need direct your attention here at present Now, if you please, ill go down and look at the ly left the pilot-house and directed their steps beloay of the grand staircase At the bottonificently carpeted, and lighted at each end by a circularin the side of the shi+p In front of them as they descended the staircase, and at a distance of about twelve feet from its base, a partition stretched fro one of the saloon bulkheads Along the face of this a series of Corinthian pilasters, supporting a noble cornice at the junction of wall and ceiling, divided up the partition into a corresponding nus of fanciful scroll-work and painted in creaold
In two instances, however, at points which divided the partition into three equal parts, the panels were replaced by handso a very rich and handsome effect These doors were, however, closed, and the curiosity of the new-comers as to as to be seen on the other side of the round to the back of the grand staircase (in which direction lay the sleeping apartments, bath-rooms, and domestic offices) they found themselves at the head of another staircase much narrower than the former The one now before the cork-screw fashi+on round the tube which encased the coine-room, etcetera, and it was in its turn encased in a cylindrical bulk-head, in which, on their way below, they passed several doors giving access, as the professor explained, to the different decks
Winding their way doard for a considerable distance they at length reached the foot of the staircase and passed at once through a doorway ine Room” The first sensation of those who now visited this aparth full of machinery, was small, absurdly so, it seeines, consisting of a pair of three- cylinder cohout of aethereuly handsoestedelse, the pair occupying very little er Thames river steamers The impression of diminutiveness and inadequacy of power passed away, however, when the professor inforh-pressure cylinder at the astounding pressure of five thousand pounds to the square inch, and that, though the engines themselves would only make fifty revolutions per minute, the propeller, would be ear, to revolve at the rate of one thousand times per minute in air of ordinary atet your vapour up to that tremendous pressure?” asked the colonel