At the stern a similar hatch gave access probably to the cabin of the
captain, who remained unseen. When these different hatches were shut
down, they had a sort of rubber covering which closed them hermetically
tight, so that the water could not reach the interior when the boat
plunged beneath the ocean.
As to the motor, which imparted such prodigious speed to the machine, I
could see nothing of it, nor of the propeller. However, the fast
speeding boat left behind it only a long, smooth wake. The extreme
fineness of the lines of the craft, caused it to make scarcely any
waves, and enabled it to ride lightly over the crest of the billows
even in a rough sea.
As was already known, the power by which the machine was driven, was
neither steam nor gasoline, nor any of those similar liquids so well
known by their odor, which are usually employed for automobiles and
submarines. No doubt the power here used was electricity, generated on
board, at some high power. Naturally I asked myself whence comes this
electricity, from piles, or from accumulators? But how were these piles
or accumulators charged? Unless, indeed, the electricity was drawn
directly from the surrounding air or from the water, by processes
hitherto unknown. And I asked myself with intense eagerness if in the
present situation, I might be able to discover these secrets.
Then I thought of my companions, left behind on the shore of Black Rock
Creek. One of them, I knew, was wounded; perhaps the others were also.
Having seen me dragged overboard by the hawser, could they possibly
suppose that I had been rescued by the “Terror?” Surely not! Doubtless
the news of my death had already been telegraphed to Mr. Ward from
Toledo. And now who would dare to undertake a new campaign against this
“Master of the World”?
These thoughts occupied my mind as I awaited the captain’s appearance
on the deck. He did not appear.
I soon began to feel very hungry; for I must have fasted now nearly
twenty-four hours. I had eaten nothing since our hasty meal in the
woods, even if that had been the night before. And judging by the pangs
which now assailed my stomach, I began to wonder if I had not been
snatched on board the “Terror” two days before,—or even more.
Happily the question if they meant to feed me, and how they meant to
feed me, was solved at once. The man at the bow left his post,
descended, and reappeared. Then, without saying a word, he placed some
food before me and returned to his place. Some potted meat, dried fish,
sea-biscuit, and a pot of ale so strong that I had to mix it with
water, such was the meal to which I did full justice. My fellow
travelers had doubtless eaten before I came out of the cabin, and they
did not join me.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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