CHAPTER XV
PROFESSOR PLUDDER'S DEVICE
Morning dawned brilliantly on Mount Mitchell and revealed to theastonished eyes of the watchers an endless expanse of water, gleaming andsparkling in the morning sunlight. It was a spectacle at once beautifuland fearful, and calculated to make their hearts sink with pity no lessthan with terror. But for a time they were distracted from the awfulthoughts which such a sight must inspire by anxiety concerning themselves.They could not drive away the fear that, at any moment, the awful cloudsmight return and the terrible downpour be resumed.
But Professor Pludder, whose comprehension of the cause of the deluge wasgrowing clearer the more he thought about it, did not share the anxietyof the President and the others.
"The brightness of the sky," he said, "shows that there is no considerablequantity of condensing vapor left in the atmosphere. If the earth has runout of the nebula, that is likely to be the end of the thing. If there ismore 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 theearth would require days and weeks to go such distances, granting that itwere traveling in the proper direction. I think it altogether probablethat this nebula, which must be a small one as such things go, consistsof a single mass, and that, having traversed it, we are done with it. Weare 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 asea. We can't stay here indefinitely. For how long a time are weprovisioned?"
"We have compressed food enough to last this party a month," repliedProfessor Pludder; "that is to say, if we are sparing of it. For water wecannot lack, since this that surrounds us is not salt, and if it were wecould manage to distil it. But, of course, when I said we were out of ourtroubles I meant only that there was no longer any danger of beingswallowed up by the flood. It is true that we cannot think of remaininghere. 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. Thereis no land sufficiently lofty to rise above it this side of the Coloradoplateau."
"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 RockyMountains is now under water thousands of feet deep!"
"There can be no doubt of it. The Atlantic Coast States, the SouthernStates, the Mississippi Valley, the region of the Great Lakes, and Canadaare 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 cheekreddened, and an angry expression came into his eyes. Suddenly he turnedto the professor and said sternly:
"You said you did not wish to discuss Cosmo Versal. I should not thinkyou 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. Youdidn't predict it because you didn't see it coming. But _why_ didn'tyou see it? What have we got observatories and scientific societiesfor if they can't _see_ or _comprehend_ anything? Didn't Cosmo Versalwarn you? Didn't he tell you where to look, and what to look for? Didn'the show you his proofs?"
"We thought they were fallacious," stammered Professor Pludder.
"You _thought_ they were fallacious--well, _were_ they fallacious? Doesthis spectacle of a nation drowned look 'fallacious' to you? Why didn'tyou study the matter until you understood it? Why did you issueofficially, and with my ignorant sanction--may God forgive me for myblindness!--statement after statement, assuring the people that there wasno danger--statements that were even abusive toward him who alone shouldhave been heard?
"And yet, as now appears, you knew nothing about it. Millions upon millionshave perished through your obstinate opposition to the truth. They mighthave saved themselves if they had been permitted to listen to the manytimes reiterated warnings of Cosmo Versal.
"Oh, if _I_ had only listened to him, and issued a proclamation as he urgedme to do! But I followed _your_ advice--_you_, in whose learning andpretended science I put blind faith! _Abiel Pludder, I would not have uponmy soul the weight that now rests on yours for all the wealth that the lostworld 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 forthdespite his efforts. His form shook like an aspen.
The others crowded around excitedly, some of the women in hysterics, andthe men not knowing what to do or say. Professor Pludder, completelyoverwhelmed by the suddenness and violence of the attack, went off byhimself and sat down with his head in his hands. After a while he aroseand approached the President, who had not moved from his place on therock.
"George," he said--they had known each other from boyhood--"I have made aterrible mistake. And yet I was not alone in it. The majority of mycolleagues were of my opinion, as were all the learned societies ofEurope. 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, lookingup.
"But they were not really convinced, and they were aware that they wereflying in the face of all known laws."
"I am afraid," said the President dryly, "that science does not know allthe laws of the universe yet."
"I repeat," resumed Professor Pludder, "that I made a fearful mistake. Ihave recognized the truth too late. I accept the awful burden of blamethat rests upon me, and I now wish to do everything in my power toretrieve 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 inthe manner of a judge pronouncing sentence. I was overwhelmed by thethought of the inconceivable calamity that has come upon us. I believethat you acted conscientiously and according to your best lights, and itis not for any mortal to judge you for an error thus committed. Let usthink only of what _we_ must do now."
"To that thought," responded Professor Pludder, returning the pressure ofthe President's hand, "I shall devote all my energy. If I can save onlythis 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 anduncompromising nature to confess that he had committed an error morefearful in its consequences than had ever been laid at the door of a humanbeing, but Cosmo Versal had rightly judged him when he assured JosephSmith that Pludder was morally sound, and, in a scientific sense, hadthe root of the matter in him. When his mental vision was clear, andunclouded by prejudice, no one was more capable of high achievements.
He quickly proved his capacity now, as he had already proved it duringthe preceding, adventures of the President's party. It was perfectly plainto him that their only chance was in getting to Colorado at the earliestpossible moment. The eastern part of the continent was hopelessly buried,and even on the high plains of the Middle West the fury of the downpourmight have spread universal disaster and destroyed nearly all thevegetation; but, in any event, it was there alone that the means ofprolonging life could be sought.
With the problem squarely before his mind, he was not long in finding asolution. 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. Hehad all the tools that would be needed, as it was the custom for expressaeros to carry a complete equipment for repairs; but unfortunately one ofthe planes of t
he aero was wrecked beyond the possibility of repair. Heknew upon what delicate adjustments the safety of the modern airshipdepended, 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 wasa machine of the very latest type, and made of levium, consequently itwould 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, millionsof lives might now have been saved; but, as we have before said, only afew experimental boats of levium had been made.
Moreover, like all aeros intended for long trips, this one had what wascalled a "boat-bottom," intended to enable it to remain afloat with itsburden in case of an accidental fall into a large body of water. Pluddersaw 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 theeasier because the aero was put together in such a manner with screw-boltsand nuts that it could be articulated or disarticulated as readily as awatch. He had entire confidence in his engineering skill, and in theability of the three experienced men of the crew to aid him. He decided toemploy the planes for outriders, which would serve to increase thebuoyancy and stability.
As soon as he had completed his plan in his mind he explained hisintentions to the President. The latter and the other members of the partywere at first as much startled as surprised by the idea of embarking on avoyage of eleven hundred miles in so questionable a craft, but ProfessorPludder assured them that everything would go well.
"But how about the propulsion?" asked Mr. Samson. "You can't depend on thewind, and we've got no sails."
"I have thought that all out," said Pludder. "I shall use the engine, andrearrange 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 muchas 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 beable to do better than that."
Nobody felt much confidence in this scheme except its inventor, but itappeared to be the only thing that could be done, and so they all fell towork, each aiding as best he could, and after four days of hard work theremarkable craft was ready for its adventurous voyage.
Professor Pludder had succeeded even better than he anticipated intransforming one of the aerial screws into a propeller. Its originalsituation was such that it naturally, as it were, fell into the properplace when the "hull" was partly submerged, and, the blades being made ofconcentric rows of small plates, there was no difficulty in reducing themto a manageable size. The position of the engine did not need to beshifted at all.
The "outriders," made up of the discarded planes, promised to serve theirpurpose well, and the cabin remained for a comfortable "deck-house." Arudder had been contrived by an alteration of the one which had served forguiding the aero in its flights.
The water was close to their feet, and there was no great difficulty inpushing the affair off the rocks and getting it afloat. The women andchildren were first put aboard, and then the men scrambled in, and Pludderset the motors going. The improvised propeller churned and spluttered,but it did its work after a fashion, and, under a blue sky, in dazzlingsunshine, with a soft southerly breeze fanning the strange sea thatspread around them, they soon saw the bared rocks and deeply scoredflanks of Mount Mitchell receding behind them.
They were delighted to find that they were making, at the very start, noless 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 thegreat plains. I have good hope that many have survived there, and that weshall find a plenty of everything needed. With the instruments that wereaboard the aero I can make observations to determine our position, and Ishall steer for the Pike's Peak region."
When the party had become accustomed to their situation, and had gainedconfidence in their craft by observing how buoyantly it bore them, theybecame almost cheerful in their demeanor. The children gradually lost allfear, and, with the thoughtless joy of childhood in the pleasures andwonders of the present moment, amused themselves in the cabin, and aboutthe deck, which had been surrounded with guard lines made of wire cable.
The water was almost waveless, and, if no storm should arise, thereappeared to be no reason for anxiety concerning the outcome of theiradventure. But as they drove slowly on over the submerged range of theGreat Smokies, and across the valleys of Eastern Tennessee, and then overthe Cumberland range, and so out above the lowlands, they could not keeptheir thoughts from turning to what lay beneath that fearful ocean. Andoccasionally something floated to the surface that wrenched theirheart-strings and caused them to avert their faces.
Professor Pludder kept them informed of their location. Now they were overcentral Tennessee; now Nashville lay more than three thousand feet beneaththeir keel; now they were crossing the valley of the Tennessee River; nowthe great Mississippi was under them, hidden deep beneath the universalflood; now they were over the highlands of southern Missouri; and now overthose of Kansas.
"George," said Professor Pludder one day, addressing the President, withmore emotion than was often to be detected in his voice, "would you liketo 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 thousandfeet deep. There is the Arkansas, along whose banks we used to play, withits golden waters now mingling feebly with the mighty flood that coversthem. There is the schoolhouse and the sandy road where we ran racesbarefoot 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 Godthat I had not been so blind!"
"But there was another not so blind," said the President, with somethingof the condemnatory manner of his former speech.
"I know it--I know it too well now," returned the professor. "But do notcondemn me, George, for what I did not foresee and could not help."
"I am sorry," said the President sadly, "that you have awakened these oldmemories. But I do not condemn you, though I condemn your science--or yourlack of science. But we can do nothing. Let us speak of it no more."
The weather was wonderful, considering what had so recently occurred. Noclouds formed in the sky, there was only a gentle breeze stirring, atnight the heavens glittered with starry gems, and by day the sun shone sohotly that awnings were spread over those whose duties required them to beemployed outside the shelter of the cabin. The improvised propeller andrudder worked to admiration, and some days they made as much as eightymiles in the twenty-four hours.
At length, on the fourteenth day of their strange voyage, they caughtsight of a curiously shaped "pike" that projected above the horizon far tothe west. At the same time they saw, not far away toward the north andtoward the south, a low line, like a sea-beach.
"We are getting into shallow water now," said Professor Pludder. "I havebeen following the course of the Arkansas in order to be sure of asufficient depth, but now we must be very careful. We are close to thesite of Las Animas, which is surrounded with land rising four thousandfeet above sea-level. If we should get aground there would be no hope forus. That pike in the distance is Pike's Peak."
"And what is that long line of beach that stretches on the north andsouth?" asked the President.
"It is the topographic line of four thousand feet," replied theprofessor.
"And we shall encounter it ahead?"
"Yes, it makes a curve about Las Animas, and then the land lies at anaverage elevation of four thousand feet, until it takes another risebeyond Pueblo."
"But we cannot sail across this half-submerged area," said the President.
"There are depressions," Professor Pludder responded, "and I hope to beable to fol
low their traces until we reach land that still lies wellabove the water."
Near nightfall they got so close to the "beach" that they could hear thesurf, not a thundering sound, but a soft, rippling wash of the slightwaves. The water about them was ruddy with thick sediment. ProfessorPludder did not dare to venture farther in the coming darkness, and hedropped overboard two of the aero's grapples, which he had heavilyweighted and attached to wire cables. They took the ground at a depth ofonly ten feet. There was no wind and no perceptible current, and so theyrode all night at anchor off this strangest of coasts.
At daybreak they lifted their anchors, and went in search of thedepressions of which the professor had spoken. So accurate was histopographic knowledge and so great his skill, that late in the afternoonthey 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 approachinga bluff that arose precipitously from the water, their hearts weregladdened by the sight of three men, standing on a bluff, excitedlybeckoning to them, and shouting at the top of their voices.