CHAPTER XX
It was the 10th of January when Cobb and Hugh returned from their visitto New England and reached the city of Washington.
Hugh was not at all pleased to find Marie gone; as for Cobb, itmattered not whether Mollie was there or not. To be sure, he admiredthe girl; loved her, but as a brother. All the passion which he hadfirst thought to be in his heart for his friend's sister had vanishedinto a simple brotherly regard.
"Hello!" cried a familiar voice as Hugh came from the executive mansionthat evening.
"Hello, Lester!" exclaimed Hugh, extending his hand. "Glad to see youback, old man."
"I can't say that I'm glad to get back. The girls are gone, fathersays," returned Hugh, in a woe-begone tone of voice.
"Yes," laconically.
"Given us the slip, eh?"
"Looks very much that way."
"Did she leave any word for you?"
"Yes; a short letter. Gone to visit her aunt in San Francisco, or someother seaport, I believe," answered Lester, dubiously.
"Father says she went in a great hurry; don't know the cause of hersudden departure. Looks funny, doesn't it?" inquiringly.
"Very," knowingly.
"Bad, eh?" with a scowl.
"Horrible!"
"Well, you hear me, young man; when your sister walks off on an unknownjourney and to be gone an unknown time, she generally comes back andfinds me on an equally unknown voyage, and having about as much ideawhen that voyage will end as a jackass knows about Sunday;" and hethrust his hands savagely into his coat-tail pockets, and assumedthe air of a man perfectly indifferent as to what the world liked ordisliked.
"And when your sister forgets that she has an affianced husband dodgingabout your father's back door every night to catch but a moment'shappiness in her society, why--she'll come back and find me off on apleasure trip, somewhere," and poor Lester faced the other, and mingledhis disgust at the state of affairs with that of his friend.
"Let us clear out, and not come back until they have experienced thesame disappointment as we do now--that is, if our absence will affectthem that way," with a dubious shake of his head.
"I'll do it, Hugh! I'll go to-morrow!" cried Lester, with an injuredexpression on his face.
"Then, it's agreed. We'll get Cobb and take the Orion and skipto--well, anywhere, so we don't get back here under two months." Hughwhistled an air of satisfaction at the thought of the misery he wasgoing to bring to the heart of Marie Hathaway.
That evening Cobb was informed of Hugh's intention of starting the nextday in the Orion, and making a tour of the United States.
"Ah, Hugh; why say the United States? say the world! Let us go far,far away; to the north pole, for instance," and Cobb looked his friendin the face, sadly, but yet with an anxious hope that his propositionwould be accepted. "Yes, to the north pole," he continued. "No livingman has been there, even in this great age of progress, so you haveinformed me."
"It is impossible, Junius. We cannot reach it," returned Hugh.
"It is funny! I have seen your aerial ships, large and stanch; whycan't you go in one of them?"
"Yes, our aerial ships are large and stanch; but it would be foolhardyto attempt to reach the pole in one of them. We, of course, depend ontheir lightness to overcome gravitation; now, the lightest gas we canget is hydrogen, and this we use. With our vessels filled with thisgas, we have no trouble in making from twenty to fifty, and even ahundred miles per hour, according to the wind. But here comes in thegreatest factor in aerial navigation; how to make up the gas dischargedin changing altitudes and lost by exudation through the skin of theballoon. In nearly every great city large quantities of hydrogen arekept in store for filling the balloons of such vessels as may arriveand require replenishment. So long as a vessel is kept within a day'sjourney of one of these cities, it is easy to keep sufficient gas inthe balloon, and thus to travel from point to point; but as there areno hydrogen works north of latitude fifty-four degrees fifteen minutes,and as the distance from there to the pole is over 2,200 miles, and thesame distance back again, and as, again, the speed of an aerial shipdepends upon the direction of the wind, and its velocity--the maximumspeed in a perfectly tranquil atmosphere being only forty-five milesper hour--it will easily be seen that a period of one hundred hours,and perhaps very many more, would elapse ere the ship could return tothe starting point. As a fact, the loss of hydrogen will be so greatthat, unless replenished, the vessel will lose its carrying power erethirty hours have passed. Thus you see, Junius, it is impossible to usethe aerial ship to reach the pole."
"But can you not carry material to keep your supply of hydrogen up tothe amount required?" asked Cobb, eagerly.
"No. The amount would be too great to manufacture in the time whichwould be at one's command; besides, the apparatus would be too heavyfor the balloon to carry."
"Then, I understand that, if you could manufacture this gas insufficient quantities on the ship, and by light apparatus, you couldgo anywhere?" Cobb spoke the words slowly, as if lost in some deepthought.
"Certainly," replied Hugh. "But that is a discovery which I doubt muchwill ever be accomplished!"
"Perhaps."
"Perhaps?"
"Yes, I said perhaps," returned Cobb, with a complaisant smile. Then,inquiringly: "Will you show me your finest aerial ship to-morrow?"
"Of course you will see it if we start to-morrow, as we have agreed."
"But do not agree to start to-morrow. Show me your ship, as I have notseen them closely, and I will be ready to start soon after."
"Well, if you wish it, Junius, I will do so; but I do not understandthe reason for your request."
"You will see," quietly returned Cobb.
It was about 10 dial the next day when Cobb accompanied Hugh to thedock house of the large government aerial ship Orion. The vessel stoodin the navy yard at Washington, covered by an immense canvas shed. Hergas bags were uninflated, and lay in great folds along the centralsupport.
The vessel was 377 feet long, and was built in a very peculiar manner.The balloon part of the vessel was in the form of a huge cigar, throughthe center of which extended a rod 380 feet long, with trusses tokeep it rigid. The cones of the balloon were covered with aluminumshields, which extended toward the center to a distance of sixty feet.Light rods joined these two shields to each other, thereby bracing thewhole vessel. Depending from the central rod, by stiff hangings, andjust under the gas envelope, was the car, built of bamboo, canvas, andaluminum rods. The car was 100 feet in length and 15 wide, and had anarea of 1,500 square feet; the flooring was of the lightest materialconsistent with safety. The rear point of the cone carried a windpropeller of forty-six feet in diameter; the forward cone had fourrudders working from the point of the cone back to a distance of thirtyfeet, and set in pairs--one pair vertical, and the other horizontal.There was a small lipthalene engine in the center of the ship coupledto the propeller. Within the car were fourteen state-rooms, parlor,instrument-room, kitchen, dining-room, and cabin, besides the pilot'sroom in front, and the engine-room in the center. The balloon, wheninflated, was 377 feet from point to point of the cones, and 100 feetin diameter. Its displacement of air was 2,000,000 cubic feet, or153,000 pounds, under the pressure of one atmosphere. Inflated withhydrogen, it had a carrying capacity of seventy tons. The silk bag wascovered with a peculiar coating, which made it almost impervious tochange of texture, yet soft and pliable. The weight of the whole shipwas fifty-two tons, the engines and machinery three tons more; makingthe whole weight, without passengers or freight, fifty-five tons.Five tons was the usual weight carried, as the gas bag was only aboutsix-sevenths full at rising, in order to allow for the expansion of thegas as the elevation increased. The cabin was aft, and the state-roomsnear the center; all were furnished handsomely, and with everythingrequisite for one's comfort, but of the lightest material.
Through the center of the great gas bag a silk shaft led to a platformon the very top of the balloon. This was the lookout's st
ation, andcommunication with the pilot was by telephone. The vessel was lightedand heated by electricity, supplied from storage batteries of greatpower, though small in volume. The cooking was by electricity likewise,and owing to the inflammability of the hydrogen gas, fire was notpermitted aboard the ship.
Cobb surveyed the vessel very carefully, examining every part, andlooking at every detail of the mechanism of the machinery. The gas bagwas critically inspected, and then the area of the deck measured. Witha smiling, satisfied air, Cobb turned to Hugh, and said: "It rests withyou, Hugh, whether this vessel take us to the north pole or simplymakes a tour of the States."
"You astonish me!" exclaimed Hugh. "You certainly will not ask me tomake an attempt which others have declared impossible?"
"I mean to ask you to do it," calmly replied the other.
"But I certainly will not grant your request," with a decided movementof the head.
"But you will not only grant my request, but you will, with me, reachthe pole before a week has passed." There was a quiet, cool assurancein his words that gave Hugh a feeling that the man was not talking atrandom, but had some grand scheme in view, which, to him, gave promiseof success. Feeling this to be the case, he framed his next wordsaccordingly: "Tell me what you mean? How is this to be accomplished?Explain yourself."
Without replying to the questions, Cobb simply asked: "Will you get theauthority for a few simple changes in the construction of this vessel?Can you do this?"
"Yes; I think I can; that is, if it is to improve the ship."
"Then, get that permission, and have the changes made, a list ofwhich I will give you this evening; they can be finished by day afterto-morrow. Also, have 10,000 pounds of meteorite and 200 gallons ofnitric acid put aboard the vessel, and 2,500 pounds of meteorite andfifty gallons of acid near at hand. Increase your supply of lipthalitesufficiently to run the engines twenty-five days."
"But will you not be adding too much weight for buoyancy?" suggestedHugh.
"How much will the hydrogen which is used to inflate that bag weigh?"asked Cobb, pointing to the folded envelope.
"Well," replied Hugh, thinking a moment, "the capacity is two millioncubic feet, and a cubic foot of air weighs nearly eight hundredthsof a pound; that would give about 160,000 pounds. Assuming thespecific gravity of air at one, that of hydrogen would be sixty-ninethousandths, and the weight about 11,000 pounds."
"Correct," said Cobb, who had made a mental calculation of the weight."Now I ask you to put on the vessel 12,000 pounds of meteorite andacid. Very well; if your ship can take care of 6,000 of these pounds,I will reduce the weight of the gas in the bag to 5,000 pounds, thusproviding for the other 6,000 pounds."
"But you cannot do it!" cried Hugh. "Hydrogen is the lightest gasknown; you cannot reduce its weight."
"I can." Cobb looked calmly into the face of his friend.
"You, perhaps, think you can," insinuated Hugh.
"I know I can," firmly replied the other.
"Then the changes shall be made."
"And day after to-morrow, at 12 dial, we sail for the north pole?"asked Cobb. "Is it to be so?"
"As you wish, Junius."
Their plans being settled, they returned to the executive mansion,where Hugh immediately sought his father, and told him of hisinterview with Cobb, and what the latter had promised to do. He thenasked for the order permitting the changes in the Orion.
Without evincing any surprise, the President wrote the order, and gaveit to him, adding:
"I think I know where he will get this new gas. I saw it demonstratedin the Secretary's office last September."
"And I am to go with him, you understand?" anxiously asked Hugh.
"Well, as to that, if he has found a method of manufacturing the gasas it is needed, I see not the slightest objection, for you know thathas been the only difficulty, heretofore, in making the voyage. Yes, myson, go, and let another laurel be added to the family name."
When Cobb read the "Daily American" the next morning he was surprisedto come across a notice to the world of his proposed voyage. Hehad said nothing to anyone, and could only account for the item byreasoning that the order to the Secretary, and which Hugh had shownhim, had read:
"* * * These changes must be completed by the 12th instant, at 12 dial,as Colonel Cobb and Captains Craft and Hathaway will start for thenorth pole at that hour. * * *"
The paper gave the news, and commented upon the proposed undertaking asfollows:
"WASHINGTON, 10, 18 D.--Orders have been received at the War Department to have the aerial ship Orion put into shape for a long and extended voyage. It is currently reported at the Capitol that Lieutenant-Colonel Junius Cobb, Second Cavalry, the man of '87, as he has become known, intends to make the attempt of reaching the pole in an air-ship. His companions will be Captains Craft and Hathaway, of the army; the former officer a son of the President of the United States. This will be the seventh trial to reach the pole since the invention of the air-ship. The first four who competed for the honor returned in disgrace, their vessels failing to reach the sixty-ninth parallel of north latitude ere they were compelled to turn back on account of loss of gas. The other two adventurers, Pope, in the Star, in 1985, and Capron, in the Highflyer, in 1993, have never been heard from. The problem is one utterly without solution; the air-ship is not destined to ever reach the pole.
"The foolhardy attempt now about to be made will not only end in disaster to the gentlemen engaged in it, but will bring sorrow to the nation by the loss to the President of his only son."
"Rather discouraging, that," said Cobb to himself, as he laid the paperaside. "Strange how much these newspaper men know! They haven't changeda particle since the days of old."
The work progressed upon the Orion, and the sound of hammers was heardall the day. A long silken pipe had been connected to the gas bag, andterminated near a small, bell-shaped aluminum receiver. The poles ofthe storage batteries had been joined to a dozen pairs of carbon pointswithin this receiver, and a series of long pipes projected from itsbase. Two huge safety-valves had been placed in the top of the greatgas bag, and additional escape provided. It was 9 dial of the 12thof January, and great crowds of people filled the streets, coveredthe house-tops, and jammed themselves into every available place fromwhich a view could be had of the departure of the Orion. At the dockof the vessel the President, Secretaries, foreign ministers, and othernotables were assembled to witness the departure of the man who hadpromised to reach the pole and return.
The huge silken bag still lay inert and motionless against the aluminumsupport, no attempt having been made to fill it. The baggage had beenplaced on board; the stores, the meteorite, and nitric acid werecarefully in place, and the crew, consisting of two pilots, a cook,cabin boy, and two engineers, were standing near the vessel.
A moment later Junius Cobb appeared, and by his side walked Craft andHathaway. Their appearance was greeted by cheer upon cheer from thevast concourse of people. Slowly approaching the big ship, they mountedthe ladders to the side, and stood upon the deck of the Orion. Throwingoff his coat, Cobb at once commenced his work. The meteorite was insticks four feet long and an inch in diameter, and much resembled thesticks of lipthalite used on the Tracer. Taking a glass cylinder fivefeet in length by one in diameter, he filled it nearly full of nitricacid, and then placed a bunch of the meteorite rods in the liquid.Waiting but a moment, he withdrew them, and then put one into each ofthe ten pipes of the receiver, placed springs against their ends, andclosed the caps. Having thus charged the receiver, he stepped back, andtouched a push-button, and turned on the current to the carbons inside.
Slowly at first, then faster, rose fold upon fold of the gas bag of theOrion; the gas was generating. The crowd cheered. For two hours theprocess was continued, until the Orion just balanced at her moorings;then and only then, Cobb ceased to fill the receiver. The 2,500 poundsof meteorite and fifty gallons of nitric acid, which had been broughtas an extra supply, had been ne
arly all consumed, and over 1,500,000cubic feet of meteorlene filled the great gas bag to within one-seventhof its capacity.
Stepping down the ladders, Cobb and his two companions bade good-byeto their friends. The crew went aboard, and then the three officersfollowed. At 11:57 the receiver pipes were again charged, and theelectric current turned on; the great ship tugged hard at her cables,and swayed in the air.
"Cast off!" thundered the words from Cobb, and the hawsers whirledthrough the guards, and came tumbling to the ground. The vessel roseswiftly and gracefully in the air; the dial marked 12.
High up in the cold winter air, and swiftly, the noble ship rose; andsoon the tooting of whistles and the cheers of the people became butfaint murmurings in the depths below.
"Admiral," reported Hugh, making a grave salute, and with a twinkle inhis eye, "the barometer shows 8,000 feet."
The fact was apparent that a great elevation had already been attained,for the temperature had fallen and a decided cold feeling wasexperienced by all.
"That is sufficient, Commodore," returning the other's salute, andsmiling at his new title. "Be kind enough to have the course laidnortheast by east, and discharge gas to keep at about this altitude,"and Cobb passed into his state-room, and donned a heavy overcoat.
As the engines commenced their work the great propeller turned rapidlyon its axis, and the Orion, describing a great circle, took a coursewhich would soon bring her over Newfoundland.
Rapidly they passed over the country; the towns and cities, the riversand lakes, lay far below them, and the scene was like some giganticpanorama.
Emerging from the cabin, Cobb walked to the port bows, where Hughand Lester were leaning on the rail, and commenting on the grandscenery over which they were being swiftly whirled. An expression ofsatisfaction overspread his face, and a fire of ambition sparkled inhis eye.
"Would that I were never more compelled to descend to earth!" hecried. "Would that I could ever remain thus far away from civilizationand society!" and a sad, mournful expression succeeded the formerbrightness of his countenance.
"Say not so, dear Junius," and Hugh took the other's hand in his. "I amsure there is a bright future in store for you. I feel it; I know it!"
"I am not a part of those below," and he jerked his thumb toward theearth dimly outlined far below them. "I am not a part of that people.No solitary tie, save that of new-found friendship, binds me to them,or them to me, Hugh," and he pressed the hand that held his. "If I buthad the love of her long since dead, long since gone to her heavenlyhome, then all would be changed. I would live again, would laugh andjest, and be another man. Alas, it is not to be," and tears filledhis eyes, and became crystals of ice in the freezing temperature thatpervaded the air about them.
"Brace up, my dear Colonel!" interposed Lester. "Accept the world asyou find it! The sun of a week hence may shine on a people shoutingyour praise to the end of the earth."
"What care I for praise!" savagely returned the man, as he turned uponthe other; then in a kinder tone, he said, "Forgive me, Lester; I knowyour heart is in the right place." Twice he crossed the deck in moodysilence. "Enough," he cried, at length, as he stopped in front of them."Let fate work its decree." Then turning once more from his friends,his emotion gave utterance to the feelings of his heart: "I abide thetime of death, and a return to thee, O Marie, my darling, my girlwife!" Once more he faced them, and in harsh tones exclaimed: "It isover! Let us to business now; we are bound for the pole! For your sakesI hope we return."
It was 1,500 miles to the banks of Newfoundland, and nearly 5 dial thenext day, when the Orion was poised a thousand feet above the Atlantic.Below, plowing her way through the water, was one of the latesttransatlantic passenger lipthaleners. Eight hundred and fifty feetin length by a beam of only forty-six feet, the huge spindle rushedthrough the water with a speed of over forty miles an hour. Soundingthe great whistle of the Orion, Cobb threw over a small parachute, towhich was attached a bundle of papers of the 12th inst. The lipthalenersounded her whistle in salutation, ceased her course, and sent a launchto pick up the papers. Again sounding the whistle as a parting salute,Cobb ordered gas, and the Orion rose, and was soon hidden in theclouds. The course was then laid due east.
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