PROFESSOR PLUDDER'S DEVICE
Morning dawned brilliantly on Mount Mitchell and revealed to the
astonished eyes of the watchers an endless expanse of water, gleaming and
sparkling in the morning sunlight. It was a spectacle at once beautiful
and fearful, and calculated to make their hearts sink with pity no less
than with terror. But for a time they were distracted from the awful
thoughts which such a sight must inspire by anxiety concerning themselves.
They could not drive away the fear that, at any moment, the awful clouds
might return and the terrible downpour be resumed.
But Professor Pludder, whose comprehension of the cause of the deluge was
growing clearer the more he thought about it, did not share the anxiety
of the President and the others.
"The brightness of the sky," he said, "shows that there is no considerable
quantity of condensing vapor left in the atmosphere. If the earth has run
out of the nebula, that is likely to be the end of the thing. If there is
more of the nebulous matter in surrounding space we may miss it entirely,
or, if not, a long time would elapse before we came upon it.
"The gaps that exist in nebulae are millions of miles across, and the
earth would require days and weeks to go such distances, granting that it
were traveling in the proper direction. I think it altogether probable
that this nebula, which must be a small one as such things go, consists
of a single mass, and that, having traversed it, we are done with it. We
are out of our troubles."
"Well, hardly," said the President. "Here we are, prisoners on a mountain,
with no way of getting down, the whole land beneath being turned into a
sea. We can't stay here indefinitely. For how long a time are we
provisioned?"
"We have compressed food enough to last this party a month," replied
Professor Pludder; "that is to say, if we are sparing of it. For water we
cannot lack, since this that surrounds us is not salt, and if it were we
could manage to distil it. But, of course, when I said we were out of our
troubles I meant only that there was no longer any danger of being
swallowed up by the flood. It is true that we cannot think of remaining
here. We must get off."
"But how? Where can we go?"
Professor Pludder thought a long time before he answered this question.
Finally he said, measuring his words:
"The water is four thousand feet above the former level of the sea. There
is no land sufficiently lofty to rise above it this side of the Colorado
plateau."
"And how far is that?"
"Not less than eleven hundred miles in an air line."
The President shuddered.
"Then, all this vast country of ours from here to the feet of the Rocky
Mountains is now under water thousands of feet deep!"
"There can be no doubt of it. The Atlantic Coast States, the Southern
States, the Mississippi Valley, the region of the Great Lakes, and Canada
are now a part of the Atlantic Ocean."
"And all the great cities--gone! Merciful Father! What a thought!"
The President mused for a time, and gradually a frown came upon his brow.
He glanced at Professor Pludder with a singular look. Then his cheek
reddened, and an angry expression came into his eyes. Suddenly he turned
to the professor and said sternly:
"You said you did not wish to discuss Cosmo Versál. I should not think
you would! Who predicted this deluge? Did _you_?"
"I----" began Professor Pludder, taken aback by the President's manner.
"Oh, yes," interrupted the President, "I know what you would say. You
didn't predict it because you didn't see it coming. But _why_ didn't
you see it? What have we got observatories and scientific societies
for if they can't _see_ or _comprehend_ anything? Didn't Cosmo Versál
warn you? Didn't he tell you where to look, and what to look for? Didn't
he show you his proofs?"
"We thought they were fallacious," stammered Professor Pludder.
"You _thought_ they were fallacious--well, _were_ they fallacious? Does
this spectacle of a nation drowned look 'fallacious' to you? Why didn't
you study the matter until you understood it? Why did you issue
officially, and with my ignorant sanction--may God forgive me for my
blindness!--statement after statement, assuring the people that there was
no danger--statements that were even abusive toward him who alone should
have been heard?
"And yet, as now appears, you knew nothing about it. Millions upon millions
have perished through your obstinate opposition to the truth. They might
have saved themselves if they had been permitted to listen to the many
times reiterated warnings of Cosmo Versál.
"Oh, if _I_ had only listened to him, and issued a proclamation as he urged
me to do! But I followed _your_ advice--_you_, in whose learning and
pretended science I put blind faith! _Abiel Pludder, I would not have upon
my soul the weight that now rests on yours for all the wealth that the lost
world carried down into its watery grave!_"
As the President ceased speaking he turned away and sank upon a rock,
pressing his hands upon his throat to suppress the sobs that broke forth
despite his efforts. His form shook like an aspen.
The others crowded around excitedly, some of the women in hysterics, and
the men not knowing what to do or say. Professor Pludder, completely
overwhelmed by the suddenness and violence of the attack, went off by
himself and sat down with his head in his hands. After a while he arose
and approached the President, who had not moved from his place on the
rock.
"George," he said--they had known each other from boyhood--"I have made a
terrible mistake. And yet I was not alone in it. The majority of my
colleagues were of my opinion, as were all the learned societies of
Europe. No such thing as a watery nebula has ever been known to science.
It was inconceivable."
"Some of your colleagues did not think so," said the President, looking
up.
"But they were not really convinced, and they were aware that they were
flying in the face of all known laws."
"I am afraid," said the President dryly, "that science does not know all
the laws of the universe yet."
"I repeat," resumed Professor Pludder, "that I made a fearful mistake. I
have recognized the truth too late. I accept the awful burden of blame
that rests upon me, and I now wish to do everything in my power to
retrieve the consequences of my terrible error."
The President arose and grasped the professor's hand.
"Forgive me, Abiel," he said, with emotion, "if I have spoken too much in
the manner of a judge pronouncing sentence. I was overwhelmed by the
thought of the inconceivable calamity that has come upon us. I believe
that you acted conscientiously and according to your best lights, and it
is not for any mortal to judge you for an error thus committed. Let us
think only of what _we_ must do now."
"To that thought," responded Professor Pludder, returning the pressure of
the President's hand, "I shall devote all my energy. If I can save only
this little party I shall have done something in the way of atonement."
It was a deep humiliation for a man of Professor Pludder's proud and
uncompromising nature to confess that he had committed an error more
fearful in its consequences than had ever been laid at the door of a human
being, but Cosmo Versál had rightly judged him when he assured Joseph
Smith that Pludder was morally sound, and, in a scientific sense, had
the root of the matter in him. When his mental vision was clear, and
unclouded by prejudice, no one was more capable of high achievements.
He quickly proved his capacity now, as he had already proved it during
the preceding, adventures of the President's party. It was perfectly plain
to him that their only chance was in getting to Colorado at the earliest
possible moment. The eastern part of the continent was hopelessly buried,
and even on the high plains of the Middle West the fury of the downpour
might have spread universal disaster and destroyed nearly all the
vegetation; but, in any event, it was there alone that the means of
prolonging life could be sought.
With the problem squarely before his mind, he was not long in finding a
solution. His first step was to make a thorough examination of the aero,
with the hope that the damage that it had suffered might be reparable. He
had all the tools that would be needed, as it was the custom for express
aeros to carry a complete equipment for repairs; but unfortunately one of
the planes of the aero was wrecked beyond the possibility of repair. He
knew upon what delicate adjustments the safety of the modern airship
depended, and he did not dare undertake a voyage with a lame craft.
Then the idea occurred to him of trying to escape by water. The aero was
a machine of the very latest type, and made of levium, consequently it
would float better than wood.
If the opposition of shipbuilders, incited and backed by selfish interests,
had not prevented the employment of levium in marine construction, millions
of lives might now have been saved; but, as we have before said, only a
few experimental boats of levium had been made.
Moreover, like all aeros intended for long trips, this one had what was
called a "boat-bottom," intended to enable it to remain afloat with its
burden in case of an accidental fall into a large body of water. Pludder
saw that this fact would enable him to turn the wreck into a raft.
It would only be necessary to reshape the craft a little, and this was the
easier because the aero was put together in such a manner with screw-bolts
and nuts that it could be articulated or disarticulated as readily as a
watch. He had entire confidence in his engineering skill, and in the
ability of the three experienced men of the crew to aid him. He decided to
employ the planes for outriders, which would serve to increase the
buoyancy and stability.
As soon as he had completed his plan in his mind he explained his
intentions to the President. The latter and the other members of the party
were at first as much startled as surprised by the idea of embarking on a
voyage of eleven hundred miles in so questionable a craft, but Professor
Pludder assured them that everything would go well.
"But how about the propulsion?" asked Mr. Samson. "You can't depend on the
wind, and we've got no sails."
"I have thought that all out," said Pludder. "I shall use the engine, and
rearrange one of the aerial screws so that it will serve for a propeller.
I do not expect to get up any great speed, but if we can make only as much
as two miles an hour we shall arrive on the borders of the Colorado upland,
five thousand feet above sea, within about twenty-three days. We may be
able to do better than that."
Nobody felt much confidence in this scheme except its inventor, but it
appeared to be the only thing that could be done, and so they all fell to
work, each aiding as best he could, and after four days of hard work the
remarkable craft was ready for its adventurous voyage.
Professor Pludder had succeeded even better than he anticipated in
transforming one of the aerial screws into a propeller. Its original
situation was such that it naturally, as it were, fell into the proper
place when the "hull" was partly submerged, and, the blades being made of
concentric rows of small plates, there was no difficulty in reducing them
to a manageable size. The position of the engine did not need to be
shifted at all.
The "outriders," made up of the discarded planes, promised to serve their
purpose well, and the cabin remained for a comfortable "deck-house." A
rudder had been contrived by an alteration of the one which had served for
guiding the aero in its flights.
The water was close to their feet, and there was no great difficulty in
pushing the affair off the rocks and getting it afloat. The women and
children were first put aboard, and then the men scrambled in, and Pludder
set the motors going. The improvised propeller churned and spluttered,
but it did its work after a fashion, and, under a blue sky, in dazzling
sunshine, with a soft southerly breeze fanning the strange sea that
spread around them, they soon saw the bared rocks and deeply scored
flanks of Mount Mitchell receding behind them.
They were delighted to find that they were making, at the very start, no
less than three miles an hour. Pludder clapped his hands and exclaimed:
"This is capital! In but little over two weeks we shall be safe on the
great plains. I have good hope that many have survived there, and that we
shall find a plenty of everything needed. With the instruments that were
aboard the aero I can make observations to determine our position, and I
shall steer for the Pike's Peak region."
When the party had become accustomed to their situation, and had gained
confidence in their craft by observing how buoyantly it bore them, they
became almost cheerful in their demeanor. The children gradually lost all
fear, and, with the thoughtless joy of childhood in the pleasures and
wonders of the present moment, amused themselves in the cabin, and about
the deck, which had been surrounded with guard lines made of wire cable.
The water was almost waveless, and, if no storm should arise, there
appeared to be no reason for anxiety concerning the outcome of their
adventure. But as they drove slowly on over the submerged range of the
Great Smokies, and across the valleys of Eastern Tennessee, and then over
the Cumberland range, and so out above the lowlands, they could not keep
their thoughts from turning to what lay beneath that fearful ocean. And
occasionally something floated to the surface that wrenched their
heart-strings and caused them to avert their faces.
Professor Pludder kept them informed of their location. Now they were over
central Tennessee; now Nashville lay more than three thousand feet beneath
their keel; now they were crossing the valley of the Tennessee River; now
the great Mississippi was under them, hidden deep beneath the universal
flood; now they were over the highlands of southern Missouri; and now over
those of Kansas.
"George," said Professor Pludder one day, addressing the President, with
more emotion than was often to be detected in his voice, "would you like
to know what is beneath us now?"
"What is it, Abiel?"
"Our boyhood home--Wichita."
The President bowed his head upon his hands and groaned.
"Yes," continued Professor Pludder musingly, "there it lies, three thousand
feet deep. There is the Arkansas, along whose banks we used to play, with
its golden waters now mingling feebly with the mighty flood that covers
them. There is the schoolhouse and the sandy road where we ran races
barefoot in the hot summer dust. There is your father's house, and mine,
and the homes of all our early friends--and where are _they?_ Would to God
that I had not been so blind!"
"But there was another not so blind," said the President, with something
of the condemnatory manner of his former speech.
"I know it--I know it too well now," returned the professor. "But do not
condemn me, George, for what I did not foresee and could not help."
"I am sorry," said the President sadly, "that you have awakened these old
memories. But I do not condemn you, though I condemn your science--or your
lack of science. But we can do nothing. Let us speak of it no more."
The weather was wonderful, considering what had so recently occurred. No
clouds formed in the sky, there was only a gentle breeze stirring, at
night the heavens glittered with starry gems, and by day the sun shone so
hotly that awnings were spread over those whose duties required them to be
employed outside the shelter of the cabin. The improvised propeller and
rudder worked to admiration, and some days they made as much as eighty
miles in the twenty-four hours.
At length, on the fourteenth day of their strange voyage, they caught
sight of a curiously shaped "pike" that projected above the horizon far to
the west. At the same time they saw, not far away toward the north and
toward the south, a low line, like a sea-beach.
"We are getting into shallow water now," said Professor Pludder. "I have
been following the course of the Arkansas in order to be sure of a
sufficient depth, but now we must be very careful. We are close to the
site of Las Animas, which is surrounded with land rising four thousand
feet above sea-level. If we should get aground there would be no hope for
us. That pike in the distance is Pike's Peak."
"And what is that long line of beach that stretches on the north and
south?" asked the President.
"It is the topographic line of four thousand feet," replied the
professor.
"And we shall encounter it ahead?"
"Yes, it makes a curve about Las Animas, and then the land lies at an
average elevation of four thousand feet, until it takes another rise
beyond Pueblo."
"But we cannot sail across this half-submerged area," said the President.
"There are depressions," Professor Pludder responded, "and I hope to be
able to follow their traces until we reach land that still lies well
above the water."
Near nightfall they got so close to the "beach" that they could hear the
surf, not a thundering sound, but a soft, rippling wash of the slight
waves. The water about them was ruddy with thick sediment. Professor
Pludder did not dare to venture farther in the coming darkness, and he
dropped overboard two of the aero's grapples, which he had heavily
weighted and attached to wire cables. They took the ground at a depth of
only ten feet. There was no wind and no perceptible current, and so they
rode all night at anchor off this strangest of coasts.
At daybreak they lifted their anchors, and went in search of the
depressions of which the professor had spoken. So accurate was his
topographic knowledge and so great his skill, that late in the afternoon
they saw a tall chimney projecting above the water a little ahead.
"There's all that remains of Pueblo," said Professor Pludder.
They anchored again that night, and the next day, cautiously approaching
a bluff that arose precipitously from the water, their hearts were
gladdened by the sight of three men, standing on a bluff, excitedly
beckoning to them, and shouting at the top of their voices.