The Mighty Deep 



Once again disappointment lay ahead. More 

 than half the task had been accomplished, when 

 the cable broke anew, the lower end as usual 

 vanishing. 



Many days the great ship hovered round, 

 hunting for that lost line ; but she had to give 

 up the quest, and to go home. A year later, 

 however, the search was resumed ; and the cable, 

 lying quietly upon the ocean -bed more than 

 two miles below, was found and pulled up by 

 powerful grapnels. 



Not yet was man beaten in his contest with 

 the Ocean. It takes a good deal of beating 

 to make the Anglo-Saxon give in. Wind and 

 wave, depth and distance, all were against him ; 

 but he went on. The plan had to be carried out. 

 He meant to see this thing through. He had 

 made up his mind to have his verbal under-sea 

 intercourse, between Continent and Continent. 



And at last he had his way. A new cable 

 was manufactured ; and this time, not only was 

 it laid safely, but it held good. 



Side by side with the new was laid also the 

 old lost cable, which had been fished up from 

 the deep. So a double line of connection existed 

 between Great Britain and her Daughter-land 

 across the Atlantic. 



280 



