anyone were to turn it on. The ceiling of this small chamber is really the end

of the descending piston, and it comes down with the force of many tons upon

this metal floor. There are small lateral columns of water outside which

receive the force, and which transmit and multiply it in the manner which is

familiar to you. The machine goes readily enough, but there is some stiffness

in the working of it, and it has lost a little of its force. Perhaps you will

have the goodness to look it over and to show us how we can set it

right.’


“I took the lamp from him, and I examined the machine very thoroughly. It

was indeed a gigantic one, and capable of exercising enormous pressure. When I

passed outside, however, and pressed down the levers which controlled it, I

knew at once by the whishing sound that there was a slight leakage, which

allowed a regurgitation of water through one of the side cylinders. An

examination showed that one of the india-rubber bands which was round the head

of a driving-rod had shrunk so as not quite to fill the socket along which it

worked. This was clearly the cause of the loss of power, and I pointed it out

to my companions, who followed my remarks very carefully and asked several

practical questions as to how they should proceed to set it right. When I had

made it clear to them, I returned to the main chamber of the machine and took a

good look at it to satisfy my own curiosity. It was obvious at a glance that

the story of the fuller’s-earth was the merest fabrication, for it would

be absurd to suppose that so powerful an engine could be designed for so

inadequate a purpose. The walls were of wood, but the floor consisted of a

large iron trough, and when I came to examine it I could see a crust of

metallic deposit all over it. I had stooped and was scraping at this to see

exactly what it was when I heard a muttered exclamation in German and saw the

cadaverous face of the colonel looking down at me.