60 A SAGA OF THE SEAS 
Field and William Everett on board, headed for Newfound- 
land; the Agamemnon, carrying Thomson and Bright, headed 
for Ireland. The contest was on again. This time there was 
to be better luck. 
When the splice was made in mid-ocean, Field was hope- 
ful but chastened. “I was standing on the deck of the Niag- 
ava,” he said later. “The day was cold and cheerless. . . . 
When I thought of all that we had passed through, of the 
hopes thus far disappointed, of the friends saddened by our 
reverses, of the few that remained to sustain us, I felt a load 
at my heart almost too heavy to bear.’”’ His New England con- 
science troubled him; was it fair to his family to persist so 
stubbornly? 
The Niagara steamed westward; but no games were played 
on her deck, as on previous trips. No telegraph stock was 
bought and sold, as reports came from the electrician, in an 
imitation stock-exchange. A short distance from the rendez- 
vous the ship’s compass began playing false, and it was neces- 
sary for the Gorgon to do the piloting. ‘There was trouble 
with the electrical continuity, but messages to the A gamem- 
non were resumed after initial despair and some tinkering. 
A fault in the cable was detected and corrected before that 
portion was laid. As the ship approached Newfoundland, 
huge icebergs were sighted but successfully avoided. 
On the Agamemnon there was more excitement. Early in 
the work, a large whale was seen approaching the ship headed 
straight for the cable. Luckily the great animal missed a con- 
tact. The suggestion was offered that perhaps the second 
mysterious break of the cable a month before had been caused 
by such an accident. Several days later an American three- 
masted schooner almost collided with the Agamemnon as it 
cut across the course. The Valorous steamed ahead and fired 
a gun as a warning. The Americans were puzzled but when 
they guessed what was going on, they gave a cheer. ‘The es- 
cape, however, was too close to be comforting. Later the 
