the depths of the lake; and various explanations have been offered to
account for it. At first, it was suggested that the trouble was due
to seismic forces, to some volcanic action beneath the lake; but this
hypothesis had to be rejected when it was recognized that the
disturbance was not confined to one locality, but spread itself over
the entire surface of the lake, either at one part or another, in the
center or along the edges, traveling along almost in a regular line
and in a way to exclude entirely all idea of earthquake or volcanic
action.
"Another hypothesis suggested that it was a marine monster who thus
upheaved the waters. But unless the beast had been born in the lake
and had there grown to its gigantic proportions unsuspected, which
was scarce possible, he must have come there from outside. Lake
Kirdall, however, has no connection with any other waters. If this
lake were situated near any of the oceans, there might be
subterranean canals; but in the center of America, and at the height
of some thousands of feet above sea-level, this is not possible. In
short, here is another riddle not easy to solve, and it is much
easier to point out the impossibility of false explanations, than to
discover the true one.
"Is it possible that a submarine boat is being experimented with
beneath the lake? Such boats are no longer impossible today. Some
years ago, at Bridgeport, Connecticut, there was launched a boat, The
Protector, which could go on the water, under the water, and also
upon land. Built by an inventor named Lake, supplied with two motors,
an electric one of seventy-five horse power, and a gasoline one of
two hundred and fifty horse power, it was also provided with wheels a
yard in diameter, which enabled it to roll over the roads, as well as
swim the seas.
"But even then, granting that the turmoil of Lake Kirdall might be
produced by a submarine, brought to a high degree of perfection,
there remains as before the question how could it have reached Lake
Kirdall? The lake, shut in on all sides by a circle of mountains, is
no more accessible to a submarine than to a sea-monster.
"In whatever way this last puzzling question may be solved, the
nature of this strange appearance can no longer be disputed since the
twentieth of June. On that day, in the afternoon, the schooner
"Markel" while speeding with all sails set, came into violent
collision with something just below the water level. There was no
shoal nor rock near; for the lake in this part is eighty or ninety
feet deep. The schooner with both her bow and her side badly broken,
ran great danger of sinking. She managed, however, to reach the shore
before her decks were completely submerged.
"When the 'Markel' had been pumped out and hauled up on shore, an
examination showed that she had received a blow near the bow as if
from a powerful ram.
"From this it seems evident that there is actually a submarine boat
which darts about beneath the surface of Lake Kirdall with most
remarkable rapidity.
"The thing is difficult to explain. Not only is there a question as
to how did the submarine get there? But why is it there? Why does it
never come to the surface? What reason has its owner for remaining
unknown? Are other disasters to be expected from its reckless course?"
The article in the Evening Star closed with this truly striking
suggestion: "After the mysterious automobile, came the mysterious
boat. Now comes the mysterious submarine.
"Must we conclude that the three engines are due to the genius of the
same inventor, and that the three vehicles are in truth but one?"
Chapter 8
AT ANY COST
The suggestion of the Star came like a revelation. It was accepted
everywhere. Not only were these three vehicles the work of the same
inventor; they were the same machine!
It was not easy to see how the remarkable transformation could be
practically accomplished from one means of locomotion to the other.
How could an automobile become a boat, and yet more, a submarine? All
the machine seemed to lack was the power of flying through the air.
Nevertheless, everything that was known of the three different
machines, as to their size, their shape, their lack of odor or of
steam, and above all their remarkable speed, seemed to imply their
identity. The public, grown blase with so many excitements, found in
this new marvel a stimulus to reawaken their curiosity.
The newspapers dwelt now chiefly on the importance of the invention.
This new engine, whether in one vehicle or three, had given proofs of
its power. What amazing proofs! The invention must be bought at any
price. The United States government must purchase it at once for the
use of the nation. Assuredly, the great European powers would stop at
nothing to be beforehand with America, and gain possession of an
engine so invaluable for military and naval use. What incalculable
advantages would it give to any nation, both on land and sea! Its
destructive powers could not even be estimated, until its qualities
and limitations were better known. No amount of money would be too
great to pay for the secret; America could not put her millions to
better use.
But to buy the machine, it was necessary to find the inventor; and
there seemed the chief difficulty. In vain was Lake Kirdall searched
from end to end. Even its depths were explored with a sounding-line
without result. Must it be concluded that the submarine no longer
lurked beneath its waters? But in that case, how had the boat gotten
away? For that matter, how had it come? An insoluble problem!
The submarine was heard from no more, neither in Lake Kirdall nor
elsewhere. It had disappeared like the automobile from the roads, and
like the boat from the shores of America. Several times in my
interviews with Mr. Ward, we discussed this matter, which still
filled his mind. Our men continued everywhere on the lookout, but as
unsuccessfully as other agents.
On the morning of the twenty-seventh of June, I was summoned into the
presence of Mr. Ward.
"Well, Strock," said he, "here is a splendid chance for you to get
your revenge."
"Revenge for the Great Eyrie disappointment?"
"Of course."
"What chance?" asked I, not knowing if he spoke seriously, or in jest.
"Why, here," he answered. "Would not you like to discover the
inventor of this three-fold machine?"
"I certainly should, Mr. Ward. Give me the order to take charge of
the matter, and I will accomplish the impossible, in order to
succeed. It is true, I believe it will be difficult."
"Undoubtedly, Strock. Perhaps even more difficult than to penetrate
into the Great Eyrie."
It was evident that Mr. Ward was intent on rallying me about my
unsuccess. He would not do that, I felt assured, out of mere
unkindness. Perhaps then he meant to rouse my resolution. He knew me
well; and realized that I would have given anything in the world to
recoup my defeat. I waited quietly for new instructions.
Mr. Ward dropped his jesting and said to me very generously, "I know,
Strock, that you accomplished everything that depended on human
powers; and that no blame attaches to you. But we face now a matter
very different from that of the Great Eyrie. The day the government
decides to force that secret, everything is ready. We have only to
spend some thousands of dollars, and the road will be open."
"That is what I would urge."
"But at present," said Mr. Ward, shaking his head, "it is much more
important to place our hands on this fantastic inventor, who so
constantly escapes us. That is work for a detective, indeed; a master
detective!"
"He has not been heard from again?"
"No; and though there is every reason to believe that he has been,
and still continues, beneath the waters of Lake Kirdall, it has been
impossible to find any trace of him anywhere around there. One would
almost fancy he had the power of making himself invisible, this
Proteus of a mechanic!"
"It seems likely," said I, "that he will never be seen until he
wishes to be."
"True, Strock. And to my mind there is only one way of dealing with
him, and that is to offer him such an enormous price that he cannot
refuse to sell his invention."
Mr. Ward was right. Indeed, the government had already made the
effort to secure speech with this hero of the day, than whom surely
no human being has ever better merited the title. The press had
widely spread the news, and this extraordinary individual must
assuredly know what the government desired of him, and how completely
he could name the terms he wished.
"Surely," added Mr. Ward, "this invention can be of no personal use
to the man, that he should hide it from the rest of us. There is
every reason why he should sell it. Can this unknown be already some
dangerous criminal who, thanks to his machine, hopes to defy all
pursuit?"
My chief then went on to explain that it had been decided to employ
other means in search of the inventor. It was possible after all that
he had perished with his machine in some dangerous maneuver. If so,
the ruined vehicle might prove almost as valuable and instructive to
the mechanical world as the man himself. But since the accident to
the schooner "Markel" on Lake Kirdall, no news of him whatever had
reached the police.
On this point Mr. Ward did not attempt to hide his disappointment and
his anxiety. Anxiety, yes, for it was manifestly becoming more and
more difficult for him to fulfill his duty of protecting the public.
How could we arrest criminals, if they could flee from justice at
such speed over both land and sea? How could we pursue them under the
oceans? And when dirigible balloons should also have reached their
full perfection, we would even have to chase men through the air! I
asked myself if my colleagues and I would not find ourselves some day
reduced to utter helplessness? If police officials, become a useless
incumbrance, would be definitely discarded by society?
Here, there recurred to me the jesting letter I had received a
fortnight before, the letter which threatened my liberty and even my
life. I recalled, also, the singular espionage of which I had been
the subject. I asked myself if I had better mention these things to
Mr. Ward. But they seemed to have absolutely no relation to the
matter now in hand. The Great Eyrie affair had been definitely put
aside by the government, since an eruption was no longer threatening.
And they now wished to employ me upon this newer matter. I waited,
then, to mention this letter to my chief at some future time, when it
would be not so sore a joke to me.
Mr. Ward again took up our conversation. "We are resolved by some
means to establish communication with this inventor. He has
disappeared, it is true; but he may reappear at any moment, and in
any part of the country. I have chosen you, Strock, to follow him the
instant he appears. You must hold yourself ready to leave Washington
on the moment. Do not quit your house, except to come here to
headquarters each day; notify me, each time by telephone, when you
start from home, and report to me personally the moment you arrive
here."
"I will follow orders exactly, Mr. Ward," I answered. "But permit me
one question. Ought I to act alone, or will it not be better to join
with me?"
"That is what I intend," said the chief, interrupting me. "You are to
choose two of our men whom you think the best fitted."
"I will do so, Mr. Ward. And now, if some day or other I stand in the
presence of our man, what am I to do with him?"
"Above all things, do not lose sight of him. If there is no other
way, arrest him. You shall have a warrant."
"A useful precaution, Mr. Ward. If he started to jump into his
automobile and to speed away at the rate we know of, I must stop him
at any cost. One cannot argue long with a man making two hundred
miles an hour!"
"You must prevent that, Strock. And the arrest made, telegraph me.
After that, the matter will be in my hands."
"Count on me, Mr. Ward; at any hour, day or night, I shall be ready
to start with my men. I thank you for having entrusted this mission
to me. If it succeeds, it will be a great honor--"
"And of great profit," added my chief, dismissing me.
Returning home, I made all preparations for a trip of indefinite
duration. Perhaps my good housekeeper imagined that I planned a
return to the Great Eyrie, which she regarded as an ante-chamber of
hell itself. She said nothing, but went about her work with a most
despairing face. Nevertheless, sure as I was of her discretion, I
told her nothing. In this great mission I would confide in no one.
My choice of the two men to accompany me was easily made. They both
belonged to my own department, and had many times under my direct
command given proofs of their vigor, courage and intelligence. One,
John Hart, of Illinois, was a man of thirty years; the other, aged
thirty-two, was Nab Walker, of Massachusetts. I could not have had
better assistants.
Several days passed, without news, either of the automobile, the
boat, or the submarine. There were rumors in plenty; but the police
knew them to be false. As to the reckless stories that appeared in
the newspapers, they had most of them, no foundation whatever. Even
the best journals cannot be trusted to refuse an exciting bit of news
on the mere ground of its unreliability.
Then, twice in quick succession, there came what seemed trustworthy
reports of the "man of the hour." The first asserted that he had been
seen on the roads of Arkansas, near Little Rock. The second, that he
was in the very middle of Lake Superior.
Unfortunately, these two notices were absolutely unreconcilable; for
while the first gave the afternoon of June twenty-sixth, as the time
of appearance, the second set it for the evening of the same day.
Now, these two points of the United States territory are not less
than eight hundred miles apart. Even granting the automobile this
unthinkable speed, greater than any it had yet shown, how could it
have crossed all the intervening country unseen? How could it
traverse the States of Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa and Wisconsin, from
end to end without anyone of our agents giving us warning, without
any interested person rushing to a telephone?
After these two momentary appearances, if appearances they were, the
machine again dropped out of knowledge. Mr. Ward did not think it
worth while to dispatch me and my men to either point whence it had
been reported.
Yet since this marvelous machine seemed still in existence, something
must be done. The following official notice was published in every
newspaper of the United States under July 3d. It was couched in the
most formal terms.
"During the month of April, of the present year, an automobile
traversed the roads of Pennsylvania, of Kentucky, of Ohio, of
Tennessee, of Missouri, of Illinois; and on the twenty-seventh of
May, during the race held by the American Automobile Club, it covered
the course in Wisconsin. Then it disappeared.
"During the first week of June, a boat maneuvering at great speed
appeared off the coast of New England between Cape Cod and Cape
Sable, and more particularly around Boston. Then it disappeared.
"In the second fortnight of the same month, a submarine boat was run
beneath the waters of Lake Kirdall, in Kansas. Then it disappeared.
"Everything points to the belief that the same inventor must have
built these three machines, or perhaps that they are the same
machine, constructed so as to travel both on land and water.
"A proposition is therefore addressed to the said inventor, whoever
he be, with the aim of acquiring the said machine.
"He is requested to make himself known and to name the terms upon
which he will treat with the United States government. He is also
requested to answer as promptly as possible to the Department of
Federal Police, Washington, D. C., United States of America."
Such was the notice printed in large type on the front page of every
newspaper. Surely it could not fail to reach the eye of him for whom
it was intended, wherever he might be. He would read it. He could
scarce fail to answer it in some manner. And why should he refuse
such an unlimited offer? We had only to await his reply.
One can easily imagine how high the public curiosity rose. From
morning till night, an eager and noisy crowd pressed about the bureau
of police, awaiting the arrival of a letter or a telegram. The best
reporters were on the spot. What honor, what profit would come to the
paper which was first to publish the famous news! To know at last the
name and place of the undiscoverable unknown! And to know if he would
agree to some bargain with the government! It goes without saying
that America does things on a magnificent scale. Millions would not
be lacking for the inventor. If necessary all the millionaires in the
country would open their inexhaustible purses!
The day passed. To how many excited and impatient people it seemed to
contain more than twenty-four hours! And each hour held far more than
sixty minutes! There came no answer, no letter, no telegram! The
night following, there was still no news. And it was the same the
next day and the next.
There came, however another result, which had been fully foreseen.
The cables informed Europe of what the United States government had
done. The different Powers of the Old World hoped also to obtain
possession of the wonderful invention. Why should they not struggle
for an advantage so tremendous? Why should they not enter the contest
with their millions?
In brief, every great Power took part in the affair, France, England,
Russia, Italy, Austria, Germany. Only the states of the second order
refrained from entering, with their smaller resources, upon a useless
effort. The European press published notices identical with that of
the United States. The extraordinary "chauffeur" had only to speak,
to become a rival to the Vanderbilts, the Astors, the Goulds, the
Morgans, and the Rothschilds of every country of Europe.
And, when the mysterious inventor made no sign, what attractive
offers were held forth to tempt him to discard the secrecy in which
he was enwrapped! The whole world became a public market, an auction
house whence arose the most amazing bids. Twice a day the newspapers
would add up the amounts, and these kept rising from millions to
millions. The end came when the United States Congress, after a
memorable session, voted to offer the sum of twenty million dollars.
And there was not a citizen of the States of whatever rank, who
objected to the amount, so much importance was attached to the
possession of this prodigious engine of locomotion. As for me, I said
emphatically to my old housekeeper: "The machine is worth even more
than that."
Evidently the other nations of the world did not think so, for their
bids remained below the final sum. But how useless was this mighty
struggle of the great rivals! The inventor did not appear! He did not
exist! He had never existed! It was all a monstrous pretense of the
American newspapers. That, at least, became the announced view of the
Old World.
And so the time passed. There was no further news of our man, there
was no response from him. He appeared no more. For my part, not
knowing what to think, I commenced to lose all hope of reaching any
solution to the strange affair.
Then on the morning of the fifteenth of July, a letter without
postmark was found in the mailbox of the police bureau. After the
authorities had studied it, it was given out to the Washington
journals, which published it in facsimile, in special numbers. It was
couched as follows:
Chapter 9
THE SECOND LETTER
On Board the Terror
July 15.
To the Old and New World,
The propositions emanating from the different governments
of Europe, as also that which has finally been made by the
United States of America, need expect no other answer than
this:
I refuse absolutely and definitely the sums offered for my
invention.
My machine will be neither French nor German, nor Austrian
nor Russian, nor English nor American.
The invention will remain my own, and I shall use it as
pleases me.
With it, I hold control of the entire world, and there
lies no force within the reach of humanity which is able to
resist me, under any circumstances whatsoever.
Let no one attempt to seize or stop me. It is, and will
be, utterly impossible. Whatever injury anyone attempts
against me, I will return a hundredfold.
As to the money which is offered me, I despise it! I have
no need of it. Moreover, on the day when it pleases me to
have millions, or billions, I have but to reach out my hand
and take them.
Let both the Old and the New World realize this: They can
accomplish nothing against me; I can accomplish anything
against them.
I sign this letter:
The Master of the World.
Chapter 10
OUTSIDE THE LAW
Such was the letter addressed to the government of the United States.
As to the person who had placed it in the mail-box of the police, no
one had seen him.
The sidewalk in front of our offices had probably not been once
vacant during the entire night. From sunset to sunrise, there had
always been people, busy, anxious, or curious, passing before our
door. It is true, however, that even then, the bearer of the letter
might easily have slipped by unseen and dropped the letter in the
box. The night had been so dark, you could scarcely see from one side
of the street to the other.
I have said that this letter appeared in facsimile in all the
newspapers to which the government communicated it. Perhaps one would
naturally imagine that the first comment of the public would be,
"This is the work of some practical joker." It was in that way that I
had accepted my letter from the Great Eyrie, five weeks before.
But this was not the general attitude toward the present letter,
neither in Washington, nor in the rest of America. To the few who
would have maintained that the document should not be taken
seriously, an immense majority would have responded. "This letter has
not the style nor the spirit of a jester. Only one man could have
written it; and that is the inventor of this unapproachable machine."
To most people this conclusion seemed indisputable owing to a curious
state of mind easily explainable. For all the strange facts of which
the key had hitherto been lacking, this letter furnished an
explanation. The theory now almost universally accepted was as
follows. The inventor had hidden himself for a time, only in order to
reappear more startlingly in some new light. Instead of having
perished in an accident, he had concealed himself in some retreat
where the police were unable to discover him. Then to assert
positively his attitude toward all governments he had written this
letter. But instead of dropping it in the post in any one locality,
which might have resulted in its being traced to him, he had come to
Washington and deposited it himself in the very spot suggested by the
government's official notice, the bureau of police.
Well! If this remarkable personage had reckoned that this new proof
of his existence would make some noise in two worlds, he certainly
figured rightly. That day, the millions of good folk who read and
re-read their daily paper could to employ a well-known phrase,
scarcely believe their eyes.
As for myself, I studied carefully every phrase of the defiant
document. The hand-writing was black and heavy. An expert at
chirography would doubtless have distinguished in the lines traces of
a violent temperament, of a character stern and unsocial. Suddenly, a
cry escaped me a cry that fortunately my housekeeper did not hear.
Why had I not noticed sooner the resemblance of the handwriting to
that of the letter I had received from Morganton?
Moreover, a yet more significant coincidence, the initials with which
my letter had been signed, did they not stand for the words "Master
of the World?"
And whence came the second letter? "On Board the 'Terror.'" Doubtless
this name was that of the triple machine commanded by the mysterious
captain. The initials in my letter were his own signature; and it was
he who had threatened me, if I dared to renew my attempt on the Great
Eyrie.
I rose and took from my desk the letter of June thirteenth. I
compared it with the facsimile in the newspapers. There was no doubt
about it. They were both in the same peculiar hand-writing.
My mind worked eagerly. I sought to trace the probable deductions
from this striking fact, known only to myself. The man who had
threatened me was the commander of this "Terror"--startling name,
only too well justified! I asked myself if our search could not now
be prosecuted under less vague conditions. Could we not now start our
men upon a trail which would lead definitely to success? In short,
what relation existed between the "Terror" and the Great Eyrie? What
connection was there between the phenomena of the Blueridge
Mountains, arid the no less phenomenal performances of the fantastic
machine?
I knew what my first step should be; and with the letter in my
pocket, I hastened to police headquarters. Inquiring if Mr. Ward was
within and receiving an affirmative reply, I hastened toward his
door, and rapped upon it with unusual and perhaps unnecessary vigor.
Upon his call to enter, I stepped eagerly into the room.
The chief had spread before him the letter published in the papers,
not a facsimile, but the original itself which had been deposited in
the letter-box of the department.
"You come as if you had important news, Strock?"
"Judge for yourself, Mr. Ward;" and I drew from my pocket the letter
with the initials.
Mr. Ward took it, glanced at its face, and asked, "What is this?"
"A letter signed only with initials, as you can see."
"And where was it posted?"
"In Morganton, in North Carolina."
"When did you receive it?"
"A month ago, the thirteenth of June."
"What did you think of it then?"
"That it had been written as a joke."
"And now Strock?"
"I think, what you will think, Mr. Ward, after you have studied it."
My chief turned to the letter again and read it carefully. "It is
signed with three initials," said he.
"Yes, Mr. Ward, and those initials belong to the words, 'Master of
the World,' in this facsimile."
"Of which this is the original," responded Mr. Ward, taking it up.
"It is quite evident," I urged, "that the two letters are by the same
hand."
"It seems so."
"You see what threats are made against me, to protect the Great
Eyrie."
"Yes, the threat of death! But Strock, you have had this letter for a
month. Why have you not shown it to me before?"
"Because I attached no importance to it. Today, after the letter from
the 'Terror,' it must be taken seriously."
"I agree with you. It appears to me most important. I even hope it
may prove the means of tracking this strange personage."
"That is what I also hope, Mr. Ward."
"Only what connection can possibly exist between the 'Terror' and the
Great Eyrie?"
"That I do not know. I cannot even imagine."
"There can be but one explanation," continued Mr. Ward, "though it is
almost inadmissible, even impossible."
"And that is?"
"That the Great Eyrie was the spot selected by the inventor, where he
gathered his material."
"That is impossible!" cried I. "In what way would he get his material
in there? And how get his machine out? After what I have seen, Mr.
Ward, your suggestion is impossible."
"Unless, Strock--"
"Unless what?" I demanded.
"Unless the machine of this Master of the World has also wings, which
permit it to take refuge in the Great Eyrie."
At the suggestion that the "Terror," which had searched the deeps of
the sea, might be capable also of rivaling the vultures and the
eagles, I could not restrain an expressive shrug of incredulity.
Neither did Mr. Ward himself dwell upon the extravagant hypothesis.
He took the two letters and compared them afresh. He examined them
under a microscope, especially the signatures, and established their
perfect identity. Not only the same hand, but the same pen had
written them.
After some moments of further reflection, Mr. Ward said, "I will keep
your letter, Strock. Decidedly, I think, that you are fated to play
an important part in this strange affair or rather in these two
affairs. What thread attaches them, I cannot yet see; but I am sure
the thread exists. You have been connected with the first, and it
will not be surprising if you have a large part in the second."
"I hope so, Mr. Ward. You know how inquisitive I am."
"I do, Strock. That is understood. Now, I can only repeat my former
order; hold yourself in readiness to leave Washington at a moment's
warning."
All that day, the public excitement caused by the defiant letter
mounted steadily higher. It was felt both at the White House and at
the Capitol that public opinion absolutely demanded some action. Of
course, it was difficult to do anything. Where could one find this
Master of the World? And even if he were discovered, how could he be
captured? He had at his disposal not only the powers he had
displayed, but apparently still greater resources as yet unknown. How
had he been able to reach Lake Kirdall over the rocks; and how had he
escaped from it? Then, if he had indeed appeared on Lake Superior,
how had he covered all the intervening territory unseen?
What a bewildering affair it was altogether! This, of course, made it
all the more important to get to the bottom of it. Since the millions
of dollars had been refused, force must be employed. The inventor and
his invention were not to be bought. And in what haughty and menacing
terms he had couched his refusal! So be it! He must be treated as an
enemy of society, against whom all means became justified, that he
might be deprived of his power to injure others. The idea that he had
perished was now entirely discarded. He was alive, very much alive;
and his existence constituted a perpetual public danger!
Influenced by these ideas, the government issued the following
proclamation:
"Since the commander of the 'Terror' has refused to make public his
invention, at any price whatever, since the use which he makes of his
machine constitutes a public menace, against which it is impossible
to guard, the said commander of the 'Terror' is hereby placed beyond
the protection of the law. Any measures taken in the effort to
capture or destroy either him or his machine will be approved and
rewarded."
It was a declaration of war, war to the death against this "Master of
the World" who thought to threaten and defy an entire nation, the
American nation!
Before the day was over, various rewards of large amounts were
promised to anyone who revealed the hiding place of this dangerous
inventor, to anyone who could identify him, and to anyone who should
rid the country of him.
Such was the situation during the last fortnight of July. All was
left to the hazard of fortune. The moment the outlaw re-appeared he
would be seen and signaled, and when the chance came he would be
arrested. This could not be accomplished when he was in his
automobile on land or in his boat on the water. No; he must be seized
suddenly, before he had any opportunity to escape by means of that
speed which no other machine could equal.
I was therefore all alert, awaiting an order from Mr. Ward to start
out with my men. But the order did not arrive for the very good
reason that the man whom it concerned remained undiscovered. The end
of July approached. The newspapers continued the excitement. They
published repeated rumors. New clues were constantly being announced.
But all this was mere idle talk. Telegrams reached the police bureau
from every part of America, each contradicting and nullifying the
others. The enormous rewards offered could not help but lead to
accusations, errors, and blunders, made, many of them, in good faith.
One time it would be a cloud of dust, which must have contained the
automobile. At another time, almost any wave on any of America's
thousand lakes represented the submarine. In truth, in the excited
state of the public imagination, apparitions assailed us from every
side.
At last, on the twenty-ninth of July, I received a telephone message
to come to Mr. Ward on the instant. Twenty minutes later I was in his
cabinet.
"You leave in an hour, Strock," said he.
"Where for?"
"For Toledo."
"It has been seen?"
"Yes. At Toledo you will get your final orders."
"In an hour, my men and I will be on the way."
"Good! And, Strock, I now give you a formal order."
"What is it, Mr. Ward?"
"To succeed! This time to succeed!"
Chapter 11
THE CAMPAIGN
So the undiscoverable commander had reappeared upon the territory of
the United States! He had never shown himself in Europe either on the
roads or in the seas. He had not crossed the Atlantic, which
apparently he could have traversed in three days. Did he then intend
to make only America the scene of his exploits? Ought we to conclude
from this that he was an American?
Let me insist upon this point. It seemed clear that the submarine
might easily have crossed the vast sea which separates the New and
the Old World. Not only would its amazing speed have made its voyage
short, in comparison to that of the swiftest steamship, but also it
would have escaped all the storms that make the voyage dangerous.
Tempests did not exist for it. It had but to abandon the surface of
the waves, and it could find absolute calm a few score feet beneath.
But the inventor had not crossed the Atlantic, and if he were to be
captured now, it would probably be in Ohio, since Toledo is a city of
that state.
This time the fact of the machine's appearance had been kept secret,
between the police and the agent who had warned them, and whom I was
hurrying to meet. No journal--and many would have paid high for the
chance--was printing this news. We had decided that nothing should
be revealed until our effort was at an end. No indiscretion would be
committed by either my comrades or myself.
The man to whom I was sent with an order from Mr. Ward was named
Arthur Wells. He awaited us at Toledo. The city of Toledo stands at
the western end of Lake Erie. Our train sped during the night across
West Virginia and Ohio. There was no delay; and before noon the next
day the locomotive stopped in the Toledo depot.
John Hart, Nab Walker and I stepped out with traveling bags in our
hands, and revolvers in our pockets. Perhaps we should need weapons
for an attack, or even to defend ourselves. Scarcely had I stepped
from the train when I picked out the man who awaited us. He was
scanning the arriving passengers impatiently, evidently as eager and
full of haste as I.
I approached him. "Mr. Wells?" said I.
"Mr. Strock?" asked he.
"Yes."
"I am at your command," said Mr. Wells.
"Are we to stop any time in Toledo?" I asked.
"No; with your permission, Mr. Strock. A carriage with two good
horses is waiting outside the station; and we must leave at once to
reach our destination as soon as possible."
"We will go at once," I answered, signing to my two men to follow us.
"Is it far?"
"Twenty miles."
"And the place is called?"
"Black Rock Creek."
Having left our bags at a hotel, we started on our drive. Much to my
surprise I found there were provisions sufficient for several days
packed beneath the seat of the carriage. Mr. Wells told me that the
region around Black Rock Creek was among the wildest in the state.
There was nothing there to attract either farmers or fishermen. We
would find not an inn for our meals nor a room in which to sleep.
Fortunately, during the July heat there would be no hardship even if
we had to lie one or two nights under the stars.
More probably, however, if we were successful, the matter would not
occupy us many hours. Either the commander of the "Terror" would be
surprised before he had a chance to escape, or he would take to
flight and we must give up all hope of arresting him.
I found Arthur Wells to be a man of about forty, large and powerful.
I knew him by reputation to be one of the best of our local police
agents. Cool in danger and enterprising always, he had proven his
daring on more than one occasion at the peril of his life. He had
been in Toledo on a wholly different mission, when chance had thrown
him on the track of the "Terror."
We drove rapidly along the shore of Lake Erie, toward the southwest.
This inland sea of water is on the northern boundary of the United
States, lying between Canada on one side and the States of Ohio,
Pennsylvania and New York on the other. If I stop to mention the
geographical position of this lake, its depth, its extent, and the
waters nearest around, it is because the knowledge is necessary for
the understanding of the events which were about to happen.
The surface of Lake Erie covers about ten thousand square miles. It
is nearly six hundred feet above sea level. It is joined on the
northwest, by means of the Detroit River, with the still greater
lakes to the westward, and receives their waters. It has also rivers
of its own though of less importance, such as the Rocky, the
Cuyahoga, and the Black. The lake empties at its northeastern end
into Lake Ontario by means of Niagara River and its celebrated falls.
The greatest known depth of Lake Erie is over one hundred and thirty
feet. Hence it will be seen that the mass of its waters is
considerable. In short, this is a region of most magnificent lakes.
The land, though not situated far northward, is exposed to the full
sweep of the Arctic cold. The region to the northward is low, and the
winds of winter rush down with extreme violence. Hence Lake Erie is
sometimes frozen over from shore to shore.
The principal cities on the borders of this great lake are Buffalo at
the east, which belongs to New York State, and Toledo in Ohio, at the
west, with Cleveland and Sandusky, both Ohio cities, at the south.
Smaller towns and villages are numerous along the shore. The traffic
is naturally large, its annual value being estimated at considerably
over two million dollars.
Our carriage followed a rough and little used road along the borders
of the lake; and as we toiled along, Arthur Wells told me, what he
had learned.
Less than two days before, on the afternoon of July twenty-seventh
Wells had been riding on horseback toward the town of Herly. Five
miles outside the town, he was riding through a little wood, when he
saw, far up across the lake, a submarine which rose suddenly above
the waves. He stopped, tied his horse, and stole on foot to the edge
of the lake. There, from behind a tree he had seen with his own eyes
seen this submarine advance toward him, and stop at the mouth of
Black Rock Creek. Was it the famous machine for which the whole world
was seeking, which thus came directly to his feet?
When the submarine was close to the rocks, two men climbed out upon
its deck and stepped ashore. Was one of them this Master of the
World, who had not been seen since he was reported from Lake
Superior? Was this the mysterious "Terror" which had thus risen from
the depths of Lake Erie?
"I was alone," said Wells. "Alone on the edge of the Creek. If you
and your assistants, Mr. Strock had been there, we four against two,
we would have been able to reach these men and seize them before they
could have regained their boat and fled."
"Probably," I answered. "But were there no others on the boat with
them? Still, if we had seized the two, we could at least have learned
who they were."
"And above all," added Wells, "if one of them turned out to be the
captain of the 'Terror!'"
"I have only one fear, Wells; this submarine, whether it is the one
we seek or another, may have left the creek since your departure."
"We shall know about that in a few hours, now. Pray Heaven they are
still there! Then when night comes?"
"But," I asked, "did you remain watching in the wood until night?"
"No; I left after an hour's watching, and rode straight for the
telegraph station at Toledo. I reached there late at night and sent
immediate word to Washington."
"That was night before last. Did you return yesterday to Black Rock
Creek?"
"Yes."
"The submarine was still there?"
"In the same spot."
"And the two men?"
"The same two men. I judge that some accident had happened, and they
came to this lonely spot to repair it."
"Probably so," said I. "Some damage which made it impossible for them
to regain their usual hiding-place. If only they are still here!"
"I have reason to believe they will be, for quite a lot of stuff was
taken out of the boat, and laid about upon the shore; and as well as
I could discern from a distance they seemed to be working on board."
"Only the two men?"
"Only the two."
"But," protested I, "can two be sufficient to handle an apparatus of
such speed, and of such intricacy, as to be at once automobile, boat
and submarine?"
"I think not, Mr. Strock; but I only saw the same two. Several times
they came to the edge of the little wood where I was hidden, and
gathered sticks for a fire which they made upon the beach. The region
is so uninhabited and the creek so hidden from the lake that they ran
little danger of discovery. They seemed to know this."
"You would recognize them both again?"
"Perfectly. One was of middle size, vigorous, and quick of movement,
heavily bearded. The other was smaller, but stocky and strong.
Yesterday, as before, I left the wood about five o'clock and hurried
back to Toledo. There I found a telegram from Mr. Ward, notifying me
of your coming; and I awaited you at the station."
Summed up, then, the news amounted to this: For forty hours past a
submarine, presumably the one we sought, had been hidden in Black
Rock Creek, engaged in repairs. Probably these were absolutely
necessary, and we should find the boat still there. As to how the
"Terror" came to be in Lake Erie, Arthur Wells and I discussed that,
and agreed that it was a very probable place for her. The last time
she had been seen was on Lake Superior. From there to Lake Erie the
machine could have come by the roads of Michigan, but since no one
had remarked its passage and as both the police and the people were
specially aroused and active in that portion of the country, it
seemed more probable, that the "Terror" had come by water. There was
a clear route through the chain of the Great Lakes and their rivers,
by which in her character of a submarine she could easily proceed
undiscovered.
And now, if the "Terror" had already left the creek, or if she
escaped when we attempted to seize her, in what direction would she
turn? In any case, there was little chance o following her. There
were two torpedo-destroyers at the port of Buffalo, at the other
extremity of Lake Erie. By treaty between the United States and
Canada, there are no vessels of war whatever on the Great Lakes.
These might, however, have been little launches belonging to the
customs service. Before I left Washington Mr. Ward had informed me
of their presence; and a telegram to their commanders would, if there
were need, start them in pursuit of the "Terror." But despite their
splendid speed, how could they vie with her! And if she plunged
beneath the waters, they would be helpless. Moreover Arthur Wells
averred that in case of a battle, the advantage would not be with the
destroyers, despite their large crews, and many guns. Hence, if we
did not succeed this night, the campaign would end in failure.
Arthur Wells knew Black Rock Creek thoroughly, having hunted there
more than once. It was bordered in most places with sharp rocks
against which the waters of the lake beat heavily. Its channel was
some thirty feet deep, so that the "Terror" could take shelter either
upon the surface or under water. In two or three places the steep
banks gave way to sand beaches which led to little gorges reaching up
toward the woods, two or three hundred feet.
It was seven in the evening when our carriage reached these woods.
There was still daylight enough for us to see easily, even in the
shade of the trees. To have crossed openly to the edge of the creek
would have exposed us to the view of the men of the "Terror," if she
were still there, and thus give her warning to escape.
"Had we better stop here?" I asked Wells, as our rig drew up to the
edge of the woods.
"No, Mr. Strock," said he. "We had better leave the carriage deeper
in the woods, where there will be no chance whatever of our being
seen."
"Can the carriage drive under these trees?"
"It can," declared Wells. "I have already explored these woods
thoroughly. Five or six hundred feet from here, there is a little
clearing, where we will be completely hidden, and where our horses
may find pasture. Then, as soon as it is dark, we will go down to the
beach, at the edge of the rocks which shut in the mouth of the creek.
Thus if the 'Terror' is still there, we shall stand between her and
escape."
Eager as we all were for action, it was evidently best to do as Wells
suggested and wait for night. The intervening time could well be
occupied as he said. Leading the horses by the bridle, while they
dragged the empty carriage, we proceeded through the heavy woods. The
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