"Good-sized vessels have been raised by these air-bags of late," said
Edgar. "Let me see: there were the brig _Ridesdale_, of 170 tons
burthen, sunk off Calshot Castle, and Her Majesty's gun-brig
_Partridge_, 180 tons, and the brig _Dauntless_, 179 tons, and last, but
not least, the _Prince Consort_, at Aberdeen, an iron paddle-steamer of
607 tons, and the dead weight lifted was 560 tons, including engines and
boilers."
Still Baldwin shook his head, remarking that the _Seagull_ was full 900
tons.
"Well, then," resumed the young engineer, "here is still another method.
We might send down your men to make all the openings,--ports, windows,
etcetera--water-tight, fix a shield over the hole she knocked in her
bottom on the cliffs, and then, by means of several water-pumps reaching
from above the surface to the hold, clear her of water. When
sufficiently floated by such means a steam-tug could haul her into port.
The iron steamship _London_ was, not long ago, raised and saved at
Dundee in that way. She rose four feet after the pumps had been worked
only two hours, and while she was being towed into dock the pumps were
still kept going. It was a great success--and so may it be in this
case. Then, you know, we might construct a pontoon by making a raft to
float on a multitude of empty barrels, pass chains under the _Seagull_
and fix them to this pontoon at low water, so that when the tide rose
she would rise perforce along with the pontoon and tide, and could be
moved inshore till she grounded; then, waiting for low tide, we could
taughten the chains again, and repeat the process till we got her
ashore. Or, better still, we could hire Siebe and Gorman's patent
pontoon, which, if I mistake not, is much the same thing that I now
suggest carried out to perfection."
"I'm not sure that the pontoon you speak of has been launched yet. I'm
afraid it's only in model," said Baldwin.
"More's the pity," rejoined Edgar, "but I can go to London and
ascertain. In any case, I shall have to go to London to make inquiries,
and secure the necessary apparatus."
"Are you sure," said Baldwin, with a look of great solemnity, "that your
going to London has nothing whatever to do with apparatus of _that_
sort?"
He placed a blunt forefinger, as he spoke on the obliterated sketch of
the female head.
"Oh you suspicious old fellow!" replied Edgar; "come, you _are_
presuming now.--We will change the subject, and go on deck."
"Human natur's the same everywhere," observed Baldwin, with a quiet
laugh as he rose. "Same with me exactly when I was after Susan. For
one glance of her black eye I'd have gone straight off to China or
Timbuctoo at half-an-hour's notice. Well, well!--Now, Mister Eddy,
don't you think it would be as well for you to go down and have a look
at the wreck? You'll then be better able to judge as to what's best to
be done, an' I've got a noo dress by the firm of Denayrouze, with a
speakin'-apparatus, which'll fit you. I got it for myself, and we're
much about a size--barrin' the waist, in which I have the advantage of
you as to girth. Their noo pump and lamp, too, will interest you. See,
here is the pump."
As he spoke, the diver pointed to a pump which commended itself at first
sight by its extreme simplicity. Whether or not it was better than the
more complex, but well-tried, pumps of other makers, our hero was well
aware could only be proved by time and experience. Meanwhile he was
favourably impressed with it.
The peculiarities of the pump referred to were, first, and most obvious,
that it had no outer wooden case or box, and the parts were exceedingly
few and simple. It was on the lever principle, the cylinders, instead
of the pistons, being movable. The pistons were fixed to a bed-plate
and pointed upwards, so that the pump was, as it were, turned upside
down, a position which, among other advantages, allowed of the plungers
being covered with water, through which the air was forced and partially
cooled. Another and important peculiarity was an air-reservoir which
received air from the pump direct, and then passed it on to the diver,
so that even if the pumps should stop working there would still be a
supply of air flowing down to the diver for several minutes. The lamp
referred to was also a novelty, inasmuch as it was supplied with air by
a separate tube from the reservoir in the same way as if it were a
separate human diver. The Henkie and Davis lamp burns, on the other
hand, entirely without air, by means of certain acids. That of Siebe
and Gorman is an electric-lamp. Both are said to be effective and
economical.
Putting on the new dress, our hero was soon ready to descend, with the
lamp burning in his hand.
"There are three men down just now," said Baldwin as he was about to
screw on the mouth-piece, "two of 'em bein' your old friends Maxwell and
Rooney Machowl. They've been down about three hours, and won't be up
for an hour yet. See that you don't foul them in your wanderings below.
The other man, Jem Hogg--an' he's well named--is the laziest chap I
ever had to do with. I do believe he sometimes goes to sleep under
water!"
"Is that possible?" asked Edgar.
"Possible? Ay, I've caught 'em takin' a snooze before now. Why, I've
known a man _smoke_ under water. There was one of our fellows once got
a comrade to let him keep his pipe in his mouth while he screwed on the
front-glass; you see he couldn't have put it in his mouth _after_ that
was fixed; but he was well paid. For a time he smoked away well enough,
and the draught of air carried off the smoke through the escape-valve,
but an extra strong puff sent a spark out o' the bowl, which went
straight into his eye. He spat out the pipe, and nearly drove in the
glasses in his useless efforts to get at his eye, and then he tugged at
the lines like fury, and, when we got him on deck he danced about like
wildfire, as if he'd been shod with indyrubber instead of bein' weighted
with lead. We thought he had gone mad, and held him fast till we got
his helmet off. It cost him a month in hospital before that eye was
cured."
"That being the case, I won't smoke while below," said Edgar, laughing;
"screw away."
The glass was fastened, and our hero quickly disappeared under the sea.