The splice was effected on Saturday, the 26th, but before three miles had been laid the cable caught in the paying-out machinery on the _Niagara_ and was broken off. Another splice was made that evening and the ships started again. The two vessels kept in communication with each other by telegraph as they proceeded, and anxious inquiries and many tests marked the progress of the work. When fifty miles were out, the cable parted again at some point between the vessels and they again sought the rendezvous in mid-Atlantic. Sufficient cable still remained and a third start was made. For a few days all went well and some four hundred miles of cable had been laid with success as the messages passing from ship to ship clearly demonstrated. Field, Thomson, and Bright began to believe that their great enterprise was to be crowned with success when the cable broke again, this time about twenty feet astern of the _Agamemnon_. This time there was no apparent reason for the mishap, the cable having parted without warning when under no unusual strain. The vessels returned to Queenstown, and Field and Thomson went to London, where the directors of the company were assembled. Many were in favor of abandoning the enterprise, selling the remaining cable for what it would bring, and saving as much of their investment as possible. But Field and Thomson were not of the sort who are easily discouraged, and they managed to rouse fresh courage in their associates. Yet another attempt was decided upon, and with replenished stores the _Agamemnon_ and _Niagara_ once again proceeded to the rendezvous. The fourth start was made on the 29th of July. On several occasions as the work progressed communication failed, and Professor Thomson on the _Agamemnon_ and the other electricians on the _Niagara_ spent many anxious moments fearing that the line had again been severed. On each occasion, however, the current resumed. It was afterward determined that the difficulties were because of faulty batteries rather than leaks in the cable. On both ships bad spots were found in the cable as it was uncoiled and some quick work was necessary to repair them before they dropped into the sea, since it was practically impossible to stop the flow of the cable without breaking it. The _Niagara_ had some narrow escapes from icebergs, and the _Agamemnon_ had difficulties with ships which passed too close and a whale which swam close to the ship and grazed the precious cable. But this time there was no break and the ships approached their respective destinations with the cable still carrying messages between them. The _Niagara_ reached the Newfoundland coast on August 4th, and early the next morning landed the cable in the cable-house at Trinity Bay. The _Agamemnon_ reached the Irish coast but a few hours later, and her end of the cable was landed on the afternoon of the same day.