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281
Heroes of the Telegraph
·
John Munro
75
The
submarine
hill,
with
its
dangerous
slope,
was
passed
in
safety,
and
the
'telegraph
plateau,'
nearly
two
miles
deep,
was
reached,
when
suddenly
the
signals
from
Ireland,
which
told
that
the
conductor
was
intact,
stopped
altogether.
Professor
Morse
and
De
Sauty,
the
electricians,
failed
to
restore
the
communication,
and
the
engineers
were
preparing
to
cut
the
cable,
when
quite
as
suddenly
the
signals
returned,
and
every
face
grew
bright.
A
weather-beaten
old
sailor
said,
'I
have
watched
nearly
every
mile
of
it
as
it
came
over
the
side,
and
I
would
have
given
fifty
dollars,
poor
man
as
I
am,
to
have
saved
it,
although
I
don't
expect
to
make
anything
by
it
when
it
is
laid
down.'
But
the
joy
was
short-lived.
The
line
was
running
out
at
the
rate
of
six
miles
an
hour,
while
the
vessel
was
only
making
four.
To
check
this
waste
of
cable
the
engineer
tightened
the
brakes;
but
as
the
stern
of
the
ship
rose
on
the
swell,
the
cable
parted
under
the
heavy
strain,
and
the
end
was
lost
in
the
sea.
The
bad
news
ran
like
a
flash
of
lightning
through
all
the
ships,
and
produced
a
feeling
of
sorrow
and
dismay.
No
attempt
was
made
to
grapple
the
line
in
such
deep
water,
and
the
expedition
returned
to
England.
It
was
too
late
to
try
again
that
year,
but
the
following
summer
the
Agamemnon
and
Niagara,
after
an
experimental
trip
to
the
Bay
of
Biscay,
sailed
from
Plymouth
on
June
10
with
a
full
supply
of
cable,
better
gear
than
before,
and
a
riper
experience
of
the
work.
They
were
to
meet
in
the
middle
of
the
Atlantic,
where
the
two
halves
of
the
cable
on
board
of
each
were
to
be
spliced
together,
and
while
the
Agamemnon
payed
out
eastwards
to
Valentia
Island
the
Niagara
was
to
pay
out
westward
to
Newfoundland.
On
her
way
to
the
rendezvous
the
Agamemnon
encountered
a
terrific
gale,
which
lasted
for
a
week,
and
nearly
proved
her
destruction.
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