The Mighty Deep 



outsiders ; without risk of having her utterances 

 stopped by perhaps ** unfriendly " hands, at some 

 critical moment. 



In this vast plan the chief cable will cover 

 a distance of nearly nine thousand miles ; and 

 that will include a single stretch from Vancouver 

 to Fanning Island, more than half as long again 

 as the wire between Ireland and the United 

 States, or about three thousand five hundred 

 miles. 



No surprise need be felt at the frequent 

 breaking of cables, strong though they may be. 



The great depth of water into which they have 

 to be lowered, their own weight, the increased 

 difficulties attendant upon stormy weather, and — 

 when once they are down — the uneven character 

 of the ocean-bed, have all to be reckoned with. 



Careful previous soundings are of course 

 made, with a view to avoiding, if possible, abrupt 

 descents and precipitous breaks in the line where 

 the cable is to be. One can easily understand 

 how, if a cable lies taut across from one ridge to 

 another, it may snap with its own weight. 



But even upon a fairly smooth bed, other 

 dangers exist. Sometimes, deep down, a big 

 ''landslip" takes place, and a vast mass of debris 

 slides to a lower level. If such a mass happens 



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