Part 10 (1/2)
”The material which I used through her entire length of 907 feet, both top and bottom, is Harveyized steel, six feet thick; and the largest gun is sixteen inches,” replied Edestone slowly, enjoying the look of blank amazement which spread over the Admiral's face as he dropped back into his chair gasping and mopping his brow.
”This is the end of everything. I wish I had never lived to see the day!” The old sailor sat like a man who had seen a vision so appalling that it robbed him of his reason.
CHAPTER XIII
”THE KING IS DEAD; LONG LIVE THE KING!”
The King, of all the company, seemed to be the only one who had remained perfectly cool. He was like a man who realizing the gravity of the situation yet had nerved himself to meet it.
”Mr. Edestone,” he said, as if speaking to one of his own naval officers, ”you will please show the last two pictures again, and for the benefit of Admiral Brown you might give us some further details in regard to the s.h.i.+p's equipment and armament. May I also ask you where these pictures were taken?”
”On the flat plains in the centre of the island of Newfoundland,”
Edestone informed him, ”between the White Bear River and the east branch of the Salmon, and from fifty to seventy-five miles from the seacoast on the south. If Your Majesty will look into the middle distance when the second picture is again thrown on the screen you will see some small, dark objects; these are one of those immense herds of caribou, which happen to be moving south over this vast barren at the time of year that these pictures were taken--that is, in October.”
He observed that the face of the King took on an expression blended partly of astonishment and partly of resentment when he mentioned the name of one of the Colonial possessions of the Empire, and hastened to add:
”You will find, Sire, if you inquire of the Governor of that Province that I was there with the full knowledge and consent of Your Majesty's Government to carry on certain scientific experiments. I selected this deserted spot, so far removed from all human habitation, because there I should not be disturbed. Until I showed these pictures here today no one outside of my own men knew the nature of these experiments. The guns were loaded with nothing more harmful than several hundred pounds of black powder to produce the display of force which you have just seen. I will admit,” he granted with a smile, ”that if the newspapers had got word of what was going on there they might have made some excitement; I can a.s.sure you, however, that no act of mine could be construed even by our most susceptible and timid State Department as a violation of neutrality.”
”But where is your s.h.i.+p now?” asked the King, while the rest of the company held their breath, awaiting the answer.
”That, Your Majesty, for reasons of state, I regret I cannot at this time tell you, but you have my word and that of our Secretary that wherever she may be, her mission is one of peace.”
”Peace!” snorted Admiral Brown. ”With a six-foot armour-belt and sixteen-inch guns! It is a s.h.i.+p of war, Your Majesty. We have the right to demand whether or not it is now on or over British soil, and if it is, to make such representations to the United States Government as will cause her to withdraw it at once and apologize for having violated the dignity of Great Britain.”
”And if they should refuse, Sir William,” asked the King, with a weary smile, ”would you undertake to drive it off?
”No, Admiral,” he continued, ”up to this time we have no official knowledge of this airs.h.i.+p's existence. Until we have, we will take Mr.
Edestone's a.s.surance that his own and his country's intentions to us are friendly.”
A wave of hot indignation had swept over the entire a.s.sembly, and it was with some difficulty that the King was able to restore order.
”Please continue with your pictures, Mr. Edestone,” he said in a tone of authority.
The lights again went out, the machine in the cabinet began to turn, and as the dramatic scene was re-enacted before them his audience sat in perfect silence while Edestone, as though he were recounting the simplest and most ordinary facts, gave out the following information:
”This s.h.i.+p has a length over all of 907 feet. Its beam is 90 feet. Its greatest circular dimension is described with a radius of 48 feet. She would weigh, loaded with ammunition, fuel, provisions, and crew, if brought in contact with the earth, 40,000 tons. Her weight as she travels, after making allowance for the air displacement is generally kept at about 3000 tons, which automatically adjusts itself to the density of the surrounding atmosphere, but can be reduced to nothing at pleasure. Its full speed has never been reached. This is simply a matter of oil consumption; I have had her up to 180 miles. Her steaming radius is about 50,000 miles, depending upon the speed. She carries twelve 16-inch guns, twenty-two 6-inch guns, sixteen 4-inch anti-aircraft guns, eight 3-pounders, four rapid-fire guns, six aerial torpedo tubes, and six bomb droppers, which can simultaneously discharge tons of explosives. She has a complement of 1400 officers and men. She required three years and eight months to build at a cost of $10,000,000. In action her entire s.h.i.+p's company is protected by at least six feet of steel, and there is no gun known that can pierce her protection around the vital parts. As you have seen, she can approach to within a few feet of the surface and remain perfectly stationary in that position as long as she is not brought in electrical contact with the earth.”
The machine in the cabinet had stopped. As the lights were again turned on, Edestone, glancing in the direction of the gallery and seeing that there was no one there, bowed merely to the company before him. ”I thank Your Majesty, Lords, and Gentlemen for your very kind attention,” he said. He then stood quietly, waiting respectfully for the King to speak.
”Mr. Edestone,” said the King as he rose, ”you have certainly given us a most instructive afternoon, and you must be exhausted after your efforts.” He turned to Colonel Stewart, ”Please insist upon Mr.
Edestone taking some refreshments before he leaves Buckingham Palace.”
He grasped the inventor firmly by the hand. ”Good-bye, Mr. Edestone. I shall probably not see you again,” and bowing to the rest of the company he left the room deep in conversation with Sir Egbert Graves.
Edestone immediately became the centre of attraction.
”The King is dead; long live the King!” expresses the eagerness with which man adapts himself to a new order of things. The older men were stunned and seemed unable to throw off the gloom that had settled upon them. They bowed to the inevitable fall of the old and its replacement by the new. They were not buoyed up by the elasticity and confidence of youth; they seemed to realize that their race was run and that it were better that they step aside and give to younger men the task of solving a new problem in a new way. They sat perfectly still with dejected faces that seemed to see only dissolution.