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378
The Story of the Atlantic Telegraph
·
Henry M. Field
265
"The
grapnel
had
caught
something
at
the
exact
hour
when
by
calculation
the
ship
was
known
to
be
crossing
the
line
of
the
cable;
nor
had
the
grapnel
upon
this
or
any
other
occasion
even
for
an
instant
caught
any
impediment
from
the
time
of
its
being
lowered
to
the
bottom,
until
the
hour
indicated
by
calculation,
when
the
cable
ought
to
be
hooked."
Having
thus
caught
the
cable,
they
had
good
hopes
of
getting
it
again,
their
confidence
increasing
with
every
hundred
fathoms
brought
on
board.
For
hours
the
work
went
on.
They
had
raised
it
seven
hundred
fathoms--or
three
quarters
of
a
mile--from
the
bottom,
when
an
iron
swivel
gave
way,
and
the
cable
once
more
fell
back
into
the
sea,
carrying
with
it
nearly
two
miles
of
rope.
The
first
attempt
had
failed,
but
the
fact
that
they
had
unmistakably
caught
the
prize
gave
them
courage
for
a
second.
Preparations
were
at
once
begun,
but
fogs
came
on
and
delayed
the
attempt
till
Monday,
when
it
was
repeated.
The
grapnel
caught
again.
It
was
late
in
the
afternoon
when
it
got
its
hold,
and
the
work
of
pulling
in
was
kept
up
all
night.
But
as
the
sea
was
calm
and
the
moon
shining
brightly,
all
joined
in
it
with
spirit,
feeling
elated
with
the
hope
of
triumph
on
the
morrow.
That
was
not
to
be;
but
each
attempt
seemed
to
come
nearer
and
nearer
to
victory.
This
time
the
cable
was
drawn
up
a
full
mile
from
the
bottom,
and
hung
suspended
a
mile
and
a
half
below
the
ship.
Had
the
rope
been
strong
enough,
it
might
have
been
brought
on
board.
But
again
a
swivel
gave
way,
and
the
cable,
whose
sleep
had
been
a
second
time
disturbed,
sought
its
ocean
bed.
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