192 A DESCENT INTO PERPETUAL NIGHT 



winch came into play and boom and sphere moved out- 

 ward. When far enough from the side of the Ready, the 

 cable payed out rapidly and before the oncoming swell 

 could rise and exert its effect, the bathysphere was safe, 

 several feet under water. 



Then the boom winch reversed its effort and drew its 

 burden back toward the Ready until the cable was within 

 reach of a cluster of men at the bulwarks. These were in 

 charge of the telephone cable, of which over a half mile 

 lay in many oblong coils twenty feet in extent, along one 

 side of the deck. A file of men lifted this heavy, solid rub- 

 ber hose and passed it carefully out and overboard as the 

 bathysphere descended, allowing a small amount of slack. 

 Every hundred feet it was fastened by a master carpenter 

 with a cunning knot and sling of rope to the steel cable. 

 On ordinary dives when the first rope clamp is in place, 

 word is sent down to me, and all succeeding lowering and 

 raising is controlled by my orders through the telephone. 



One of the most important phases of the whole opera- 

 tion is the accurate measuring of the cable as it goes out. 

 When it leaves the drum the steel line is led flat across the 

 deck for 50 feet to a sheave well forward. From here it 

 returns to the foot of the boom, the two lines being almost 

 parallel. From the second sheave it extends up the boom 

 to a third mighty pulley at the tip, and thence down to 

 the bathysphere itself. Streaks of white paint with ap- 

 propriate numerals are placed on the deck beneath the 

 cable, exactly ten feet apart. When the dive is in progress, 



