MAKING AND LAYING SUBMARINE CABLES . 183 
caught there shall be a sufficient length of cable to balance 
itself and prevent it from slipping over the grappling-iron 
without the dynamometer giving any indication of strain. If 
the grappling-iron catches the cable at a distance from the 
ruptured extremity, the part between 
resists by its weight, and if the 
cable has been laid stretched, as is 
always the case in deep water, the 
strain is very great on the raising¬ 
line and also on the cable. 
If there be a tide, the drag is 
made with it. In this case the ship 
should take such a course that, 
making allowance for the wind and 
the tide, it ought to grapple the 
cable in the right place. A dyna¬ 
mometer, under which the line 
runs, shows the strain, and as soon 
as a greater strain than that due to 
the grapple is observed, it is known 
that the cable is caught. If it be 
concluded that the cable has been 
met with, the ship steams forward 
against the flow of the tide. As 
soon as the grapple line is tightened 
the part overboard is hauled in, until 
it becomes stretched and upright. 
The machine is then driven more 
slowly, so as to act only against the 
current due to the tide; and at this 
stage it is especially necessary to 
work cautiously, using both rudder 
and sails, so as to avoid letting the 
ship drift either to the right or left. 
Too small a space would give rise to considerable strain on 
the grappling line, and might cause a light cable to break. 
When the cable is brought on board, the strain on the line 
suffices to show if the broken end is near, and this determines 
the operations that are to follow. If the line be very slack, 
the suspended part of the cable may with care be brought on 
