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.On this day the same work brought Hardingand the reporter to the workshop at the Chimneys."Do you know, my dear Cyrus," said Gideon Spilett, "that the explanation you gave yesterday on the subjectof the bottle has not satisfied me at all! How can it be supposed that the unfortunate man was able to writethat document and throw the bottle into the sea without having the slightest recollection of it?"The Mysterious Island 215 The Mysterious Island"Nor was it he who threw it in, my dear Spilett.""You think then--""I think nothing, I know nothing!" interrupted Cyrus Harding."I am content to rank this incident among thosewhich I have not been able to explain to this day!""Indeed, Cyrus," said Spilett, "these things are incredible! Your rescue, the case stranded on the sand, Top'sadventure, and lastly this bottle.Shall we never have the answer to these enigmas?""Yes!" replied the engineer quickly, "yes, even if I have to penetrate into the bowels of this island!""Chance will perhaps give us the key to this mystery!""Chance! Spilett! I do not believe in chance, any more than I believe in mysteries in this world.There is areason for everything unaccountable which has happened here, and that reason I shall discover.But in themeantime we must work and observe."The month of January arrived.The year 1867 commenced.The summer occupations were assiduouslycontinued.During the days which followed, Herbert and Spilett having gone in the direction of the corral,ascertained that Ayrton had taken possession of the habitation which had been prepared for him.He busiedhimself with the numerous flock confided to his care, and spared his companions the trouble of coming everytwo or three days to visit the corral.Nevertheless, in order not to leave Ayrton in solitude for too long a time,the settlers often paid him a visit.It was not unimportant either, in consequence of some suspicions entertained by the engineer and GideonSpilett, that this part of the island should be subject to a surveillance of some sort, and that Ayrton, if anyincident occurred unexpectedly, should not neglect to inform the inhabitants of Granite House of it.Nevertheless it might happen that something would occur which it would be necessary to bring rapidly to theengineer's knowledge.Independently of facts bearing on the mystery of Lincoln Island, many others mighthappen, which would call for the prompt interference of the colonists,--such as the sighting of a vessel, awreck on the western coast, the possible arrival of pirates, etc.Therefore Cyrus Harding resolved to put the corral in instantaneous communication with Granite House.It was on the 10th of January that he made known his project to his companions."Why! how are you going to manage that, captain?" asked Pencroft."Do you by chance happen to think ofestablishing a telegraph?""Exactly so," answered the engineer."Electric?" cried Herbert."Electric," replied Cyrus Harding."We have all the necessary materials for making a battery, and the mostdifficult thing will be to stretch the wires, but by means of a drawplate I think we shall manage it.""Well, after that," returned the sailor, "I shall never despair of seeing ourselves some day rolling along on arailway!"The Mysterious Island 216 The Mysterious IslandThey then set to work, beginning with the most difficult thing, for, if they failed in that, it would be useless tomanufacture the battery and other accessories.The iron of Lincoln Island, as has been said, was of excellent quality, and consequently very fit for beingdrawn out.Harding commenced by manufacturing a drawplate, that is to say, a plate of steel, pierced withconical holes of different sizes, which would successively bring the wire to the wished-for tenacity.Thispiece of steel, after having been tempered, was fixed in as firm a way as possible in a solid frameworkplanted in the ground, only a few feet from the great fall, the motive power of which the engineer intended toutilize.In fact as the fulling- mill was there, although not then in use, its beam moved with extreme powerwould serve to stretch out the wire by rolling it round itself.It was a delicate operation, and required muchcare.The iron, prepared previously in long thin rods, the ends of which were sharpened with the file, havingbeen introduced into the largest hole of the drawplate, was drawn out by the beam which wound it rounditself, to a length of twenty-five or thirty feet, then unrolled, and the same operation was performedsuccessively through the holes of a less size.Finally, the engineer obtained wires from forty to fifty feet long,which could be easily fastened together and stretched over the distance of five miles, which separated thecorral from the bounds of Granite House.It did not take more than a few days to perform this work, and indeed as soon as the machine had beencommenced, Cyrus Harding left his companions to follow the trade of wiredrawers, and occupied himselfwith manufacturing his battery.It was necessary to obtain a battery with a constant current.It is known that the elements of modern batteriesare generally composed of retort coal, zinc, and copper.Copper was absolutely wanting to the engineer, who,notwithstanding all his researches, had never been able to find any trace of it in Lincoln Island, and wastherefore obliged to do without it.Retort coal, that is to say, the hard graphite which is found in the retorts ofgas manufactories, after the coal has been dehydrogenized, could have been obtained, but it would have beennecessary to establish a special apparatus, involving great labor.As to zinc, it may be remembered that thecase found at Flotsam Point was lined with this metal, which could not be better utilized than for thispurpose [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.On this day the same work brought Hardingand the reporter to the workshop at the Chimneys."Do you know, my dear Cyrus," said Gideon Spilett, "that the explanation you gave yesterday on the subjectof the bottle has not satisfied me at all! How can it be supposed that the unfortunate man was able to writethat document and throw the bottle into the sea without having the slightest recollection of it?"The Mysterious Island 215 The Mysterious Island"Nor was it he who threw it in, my dear Spilett.""You think then--""I think nothing, I know nothing!" interrupted Cyrus Harding."I am content to rank this incident among thosewhich I have not been able to explain to this day!""Indeed, Cyrus," said Spilett, "these things are incredible! Your rescue, the case stranded on the sand, Top'sadventure, and lastly this bottle.Shall we never have the answer to these enigmas?""Yes!" replied the engineer quickly, "yes, even if I have to penetrate into the bowels of this island!""Chance will perhaps give us the key to this mystery!""Chance! Spilett! I do not believe in chance, any more than I believe in mysteries in this world.There is areason for everything unaccountable which has happened here, and that reason I shall discover.But in themeantime we must work and observe."The month of January arrived.The year 1867 commenced.The summer occupations were assiduouslycontinued.During the days which followed, Herbert and Spilett having gone in the direction of the corral,ascertained that Ayrton had taken possession of the habitation which had been prepared for him.He busiedhimself with the numerous flock confided to his care, and spared his companions the trouble of coming everytwo or three days to visit the corral.Nevertheless, in order not to leave Ayrton in solitude for too long a time,the settlers often paid him a visit.It was not unimportant either, in consequence of some suspicions entertained by the engineer and GideonSpilett, that this part of the island should be subject to a surveillance of some sort, and that Ayrton, if anyincident occurred unexpectedly, should not neglect to inform the inhabitants of Granite House of it.Nevertheless it might happen that something would occur which it would be necessary to bring rapidly to theengineer's knowledge.Independently of facts bearing on the mystery of Lincoln Island, many others mighthappen, which would call for the prompt interference of the colonists,--such as the sighting of a vessel, awreck on the western coast, the possible arrival of pirates, etc.Therefore Cyrus Harding resolved to put the corral in instantaneous communication with Granite House.It was on the 10th of January that he made known his project to his companions."Why! how are you going to manage that, captain?" asked Pencroft."Do you by chance happen to think ofestablishing a telegraph?""Exactly so," answered the engineer."Electric?" cried Herbert."Electric," replied Cyrus Harding."We have all the necessary materials for making a battery, and the mostdifficult thing will be to stretch the wires, but by means of a drawplate I think we shall manage it.""Well, after that," returned the sailor, "I shall never despair of seeing ourselves some day rolling along on arailway!"The Mysterious Island 216 The Mysterious IslandThey then set to work, beginning with the most difficult thing, for, if they failed in that, it would be useless tomanufacture the battery and other accessories.The iron of Lincoln Island, as has been said, was of excellent quality, and consequently very fit for beingdrawn out.Harding commenced by manufacturing a drawplate, that is to say, a plate of steel, pierced withconical holes of different sizes, which would successively bring the wire to the wished-for tenacity.Thispiece of steel, after having been tempered, was fixed in as firm a way as possible in a solid frameworkplanted in the ground, only a few feet from the great fall, the motive power of which the engineer intended toutilize.In fact as the fulling- mill was there, although not then in use, its beam moved with extreme powerwould serve to stretch out the wire by rolling it round itself.It was a delicate operation, and required muchcare.The iron, prepared previously in long thin rods, the ends of which were sharpened with the file, havingbeen introduced into the largest hole of the drawplate, was drawn out by the beam which wound it rounditself, to a length of twenty-five or thirty feet, then unrolled, and the same operation was performedsuccessively through the holes of a less size.Finally, the engineer obtained wires from forty to fifty feet long,which could be easily fastened together and stretched over the distance of five miles, which separated thecorral from the bounds of Granite House.It did not take more than a few days to perform this work, and indeed as soon as the machine had beencommenced, Cyrus Harding left his companions to follow the trade of wiredrawers, and occupied himselfwith manufacturing his battery.It was necessary to obtain a battery with a constant current.It is known that the elements of modern batteriesare generally composed of retort coal, zinc, and copper.Copper was absolutely wanting to the engineer, who,notwithstanding all his researches, had never been able to find any trace of it in Lincoln Island, and wastherefore obliged to do without it.Retort coal, that is to say, the hard graphite which is found in the retorts ofgas manufactories, after the coal has been dehydrogenized, could have been obtained, but it would have beennecessary to establish a special apparatus, involving great labor.As to zinc, it may be remembered that thecase found at Flotsam Point was lined with this metal, which could not be better utilized than for thispurpose [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]