In Search of the Okapi | Page 6

three men, but no guarantee given that the propeller would
give the speed desired.
"That is good enough for us, I think," said Mr. Hume.
"They give no guarantee," remarked Compton, cautiously.
"No; but they would not undertake the work unless they had some
belief in the idea, and if the propeller proves useless, we can at the
worst unship it. In any case we must have the boat, and we could not
improve on the makers."
The order was given, and by the fourth week the little boat was
launched on the Thames for its first trial. It looked workmanlike in
spite of its wide beam and shallow draught, for the great designer who
had fashioned the lines of the fastest destroyer afloat had himself drawn
up the plans after giving a day's careful thought to the job. The shaft,
which rested on nickel-steel sockets, with ball bearings supported by
nickel-steel ribs for lightness, was protected by a water-tight casing,
and all the other parts made of the very best metal, so as to secure both
lightness and strength, with a complicated set of cog-wheels to take off
the strain. The steering was by a neat wheel right forward, where the
look-out man could have an uninterrupted view. Forward, too, was the
socket for the metal mast. The boat was fifteen feet in length, with a
beam of four feet amidships, tapering fore and aft, with a well in the
centre, and the remaining space covered in with a light aluminium deck,
strengthened by oak bends. There was sleeping-room for two, so that
with a crew of four there would have to be four watches of three hours
each. The peculiar features of the long, low craft were the two levers
rising above the after-deck through slots, which gave each a thrust of
about one and a half feet, and two saddle-like seats borne on stout

supports, one near the stem facing the bows, and the other further
forward facing the stem. Venning perched himself on one seat,
Compton on the other, one of the hands took the wheel, and Mr. Hume
and the designer sat in the well.
Compton's clear-cut face, with well-formed jaws, showed no other sign
of interest than a rather amused smile, but Venning's fair features were
flushed with excitement and nervous expectation, A man pushed the
boat out. It moved at first sluggishly.
"Full speed ahead!" cried out Mr. Hume.
Venning pulled his lever over, and as he shot it back Compton pulled
his, the two moving to and fro easily as if they had been rowing a
steady stroke.
"She moves, she moves!" cried Mr. Hume, with a shout.
"Take her over the mile," said the designer to the steersman; and he
pulled out his watch with exactly the same look of calm interest he
showed when presiding over the trial of the fastest craft afloat.
The shining aluminium boat answered to her helm, slipped through the
muddy waters in a graceful curve, and then steadied for the straight
course.
"Let her go, boys."
The levers worked to and fro with an easy swing; there rose the hum of
the chains moving easily below, and the quickened churning of the
propeller blades.
The designer glanced from his watch to the bank, which was fast
slipping away, and nodded his head at Mr. Hume.
"Easy all. I think she will do;" and he nodded at Venning. "Ten
minutes."
"Ten minutes!"

"A mile in ten minutes--six miles an hour!"
"And it was as easy as nothing," said Venning--"wasn't it, Dick?"
"Like cutting bread," said Compton.
"Very good, I think; but you must remember that she carries no cargo.
Now we'll try her with the sail alone, and then with the sail and screw
combined, and then with the screw and oars, for you will see that I have
fitted row-locks."
Under a fair breeze the boat skimmed along at a merry pace, with no
wave worth speaking of; and with the sail and screw she put on an
additional four miles, and with the oars an extra three, making from
nine to ten miles an hour.
"I congratulate you, Mr. Venning," said the designer, as they stepped
out, thoroughly pleased.
"I am sure, sir, we thank you," said the boy, warmly.
"Eight," said Mr. Hume; "and we are thoroughly pleased with the craft,
every one of us."
"She is a beauty," put in Compton--"a real beauty; and I think she
would be perfect if a light awning could be fixed up over the after-
deck."
"That could be done easily.
"It would be an improvement, certainly," said Mr. Hume.
"I will rig up brackets to hold the rods for the awning."
"And we could fix up mosquito curtains round the sides. That is A 1.
Now, what