The Log of the Flying Fish | Page 9

in that broken English of his
which it is unnecessary to further reproduce:
"Behold, gentlemen, the embodiment of a scientist's dream--the Flying
Fish!"
The baronet advanced a pace or two, then stopped short, aghast.
"Good heavens!" he ejaculated. "What, in the name of madness, have
you done, professor? That huge object will never float in the air; and I
should say it will be a pretty expensive business to get her into the
water, if indeed it is worth while to put her there."
The other two, the representatives of the army and of the navy, though
probably as much astonished as the baronet, said nothing. They knew
considerably more than the latter about the capabilities of science; and
though they might possibly entertain grave doubts as to the success of
the professor's experiment, they did not feel called upon to express an
off-hand opinion that it would prove a failure.
The baronet might well be excused his hasty expression of incredulity.
Towering above and in front of him, filling up the entire space of the
enormous shed from end to end and from ground to roof-timbers, he
saw an immense cylinder, pointed at both ends, and constructed
entirely of the polished silver-like metal which the professor had called
aethereum. The sides of the ship from stem to stern formed a series of

faultless curves; the conical bow or fore body of the ship being
somewhat longer, and therefore sharper, than the after body, which
partook more of the form of an ellipse than of a cone; the curvilinear
hull was supported steadily in position by two deep broad bilge-keels,
one on either side and about one-third the extreme length of the ship;
and, attached to the stern of the vessel by an ingeniously devised
ball-and-socket joint in such a manner as to render a rudder
unnecessary, was to be seen a huge propeller having four tremendously
broad sickle-shaped blades, the palms of which were hollowed in such
a manner as to gather in and concentrate the air, or water, about the
boss and powerfully project it thence in a direct line with the
longitudinal axis of the ship. Crowning the whole there was a low
superstructure immediately over and of the same length as the
bilge-keels, very much resembling the upper works of a double- bowed
vessel such as are some of the small Thames river steamers. This was
decked over, and afforded a promenade about two hundred feet long by
thirty feet wide. And, lastly, rising from the centre of this deck there
was a spacious pilot-house with a dome-like roof, from the interior of
which the movements of the vessel could be completely controlled. The
entire hull of the vessel, excepting the double-bowed superstructure,
was left unpainted, and it shone like a polished mirror. The
superstructure, however, was painted a delicate grey tint, with the relief
of a massive richly gilded cable moulding all round the shear- strake
and the further adornment of a broad ribbon of a rich crimson hue
rippling through graceful wreaths of gilded scroll-work at bow and
stern, the name Flying Fish being inscribed on the ribbon in gold letters.
Altogether, notwithstanding her unusual form, the aerial ship was an
exceedingly graceful and elegant object, and, but for her enormous
proportions, looked admirably adapted for her work.
Under other circumstances the professor would probably have been
seriously offended at the baronet's incredulous exclamation; but as it
was he was so confident of his success--so gratified and triumphant
altogether--that he could afford to be not only forgiving but actually
tolerant. He therefore replied to Sir Reginald only with a mute smile of
amused compassion for the baronet's lamentable ignorance and
unbelief.

The professor's smile somewhat reassured Sir Reginald, though he still
continued to eye his novel possession very dubiously.
"You once spoke of Atlantic liners," he at last remarked to the
professor; "but surely this craft is larger than the largest Atlantic liner
afloat. What are her dimensions?"
"She is six hundred feet long, by sixty feet diameter at the point of her
greatest girth," quietly replied the professor.
"And do you mean to tell me that such a monster will ever float in the
air?" ejaculated the baronet, his incredulity returning and taking
possession of him with tenfold tenacity.
"I do," answered the professor firmly, his self-love at length becoming
slightly ruffled. "In that ship you shall to-night soar higher into the
empyrean than mortal has ever soared before; and after that you shall, if
you choose, sleep calmly until morning at the bottom of the English
Channel. By and by at the dinner-table I will endeavour to demonstrate
to you, my dear friend, that it is her immense proportions alone which
will enable her to float in so thin a fluid as air."
"Very