At Any Cost
: The Master Of The WorldThe suggestion of the Star came like a revelation. It was accepted
everywhere. Not only were these three vehicles the work of the same
inventor; they were the same machine!
It was not easy to see how the remarkable transformation could be
practically accomplished from one means of locomotion to the other.
How could an automobile become a boat, and yet more, a submarine? All
the machine seemed to lack was
Nevertheless, everything that was known of the three different
machines, as to their size, their shape, their lack of odor or of
steam, and above all their remarkable speed, seemed to imply their
identity. The public, grown blase with so many excitements, found in
this new marvel a stimulus to reawaken their curiosity.
The newspapers dwelt now chiefly on the importance of the invention.
This new engine, whether in one vehicle or three, had given proofs of
its power. What amazing proofs! The invention must be bought at any
price. The United States government must purchase it at once for the
use of the nation. Assuredly, the great European powers would stop at
nothing to be beforehand with America, and gain possession of an
engine so invaluable for military and naval use. What incalculable
advantages would it give to any nation, both on land and sea! Its
destructive powers could not even be estimated, until its qualities
and limitations were better known. No amount of money would be too
great to pay for the secret; America could not put her millions to
better use.
But to buy the machine, it was necessary to find the inventor; and
there seemed the chief difficulty. In vain was Lake Kirdall searched
from end to end. Even its depths were explored with a sounding-line
without result. Must it be concluded that the submarine no longer
lurked beneath its waters? But in that case, how had the boat gotten
away? For that matter, how had it come? An insoluble problem!
The submarine was heard from no more, neither in Lake Kirdall nor
elsewhere. It had disappeared like the automobile from the roads, and
like the boat from the shores of America. Several times in my
interviews with Mr. Ward, we discussed this matter, which still
filled his mind. Our men continued everywhere on the lookout, but as
unsuccessfully as other agents.
On the morning of the twenty-seventh of June, I was summoned into the
presence of Mr. Ward.
"Well, Strock," said he, "here is a splendid chance for you to get
your revenge."
"Revenge for the Great Eyrie disappointment?"
"Of course."
"What chance?" asked I, not knowing if he spoke seriously, or in jest.
"Why, here," he answered. "Would not you like to discover the
inventor of this three-fold machine?"
"I certainly should, Mr. Ward. Give me the order to take charge of
the matter, and I will accomplish the impossible, in order to
succeed. It is true, I believe it will be difficult."
"Undoubtedly, Strock. Perhaps even more difficult than to penetrate
into the Great Eyrie."
It was evident that Mr. Ward was intent on rallying me about my
unsuccess. He would not do that, I felt assured, out of mere
unkindness. Perhaps then he meant to rouse my resolution. He knew me
well; and realized that I would have given anything in the world to
recoup my defeat. I waited quietly for new instructions.
Mr. Ward dropped his jesting and said to me very generously, "I know,
Strock, that you accomplished everything that depended on human
powers; and that no blame attaches to you. But we face now a matter
very different from that of the Great Eyrie. The day the government
decides to force that secret, everything is ready. We have only to
spend some thousands of dollars, and the road will be open."
"That is what I would urge."
"But at present," said Mr. Ward, shaking his head, "it is much more
important to place our hands on this fantastic inventor, who so
constantly escapes us. That is work for a detective, indeed; a master
detective!"
"He has not been heard from again?"
"No; and though there is every reason to believe that he has been,
and still continues, beneath the waters of Lake Kirdall, it has been
impossible to find any trace of him anywhere around there. One would
almost fancy he had the power of making himself invisible, this
Proteus of a mechanic!"
"It seems likely," said I, "that he will never be seen until he
wishes to be."
"True, Strock. And to my mind there is only one way of dealing with
him, and that is to offer him such an enormous price that he cannot
refuse to sell his invention."
Mr. Ward was right. Indeed, the government had already made the
effort to secure speech with this hero of the day, than whom surely
no human being has ever better merited the title. The press had
widely spread the news, and this extraordinary individual must
assuredly know what the government desired of him, and how completely
he could name the terms he wished.
"Surely," added Mr. Ward, "this invention can be of no personal use
to the man, that he should hide it from the rest of us. There is
every reason why he should sell it. Can this unknown be already some
dangerous criminal who, thanks to his machine, hopes to defy all
pursuit?"
My chief then went on to explain that it had been decided to employ
other means in search of the inventor. It was possible after all that
he had perished with his machine in some dangerous maneuver. If so,
the ruined vehicle might prove almost as valuable and instructive to
the mechanical world as the man himself. But since the accident to
the schooner "Markel" on Lake Kirdall, no news of him whatever had
reached the police.
On this point Mr. Ward did not attempt to hide his disappointment and
his anxiety. Anxiety, yes, for it was manifestly becoming more and
more difficult for him to fulfill his duty of protecting the public.
How could we arrest criminals, if they could flee from justice at
such speed over both land and sea? How could we pursue them under the
oceans? And when dirigible balloons should also have reached their
full perfection, we would even have to chase men through the air! I
asked myself if my colleagues and I would not find ourselves some day
reduced to utter helplessness? If police officials, become a useless
incumbrance, would be definitely discarded by society?
Here, there recurred to me the jesting letter I had received a
fortnight before, the letter which threatened my liberty and even my
life. I recalled, also, the singular espionage of which I had been
the subject. I asked myself if I had better mention these things to
Mr. Ward. But they seemed to have absolutely no relation to the
matter now in hand. The Great Eyrie affair had been definitely put
aside by the government, since an eruption was no longer threatening.
And they now wished to employ me upon this newer matter. I waited,
then, to mention this letter to my chief at some future time, when it
would be not so sore a joke to me.
Mr. Ward again took up our conversation. "We are resolved by some
means to establish communication with this inventor. He has
disappeared, it is true; but he may reappear at any moment, and in
any part of the country. I have chosen you, Strock, to follow him the
instant he appears. You must hold yourself ready to leave Washington
on the moment. Do not quit your house, except to come here to
headquarters each day; notify me, each time by telephone, when you
start from home, and report to me personally the moment you arrive
here."
"I will follow orders exactly, Mr. Ward," I answered. "But permit me
one question. Ought I to act alone, or will it not be better to join
with me?"
"That is what I intend," said the chief, interrupting me. "You are to
choose two of our men whom you think the best fitted."
"I will do so, Mr. Ward. And now, if some day or other I stand in the
presence of our man, what am I to do with him?"
"Above all things, do not lose sight of him. If there is no other
way, arrest him. You shall have a warrant."
"A useful precaution, Mr. Ward. If he started to jump into his
automobile and to speed away at the rate we know of, I must stop him
at any cost. One cannot argue long with a man making two hundred
miles an hour!"
"You must prevent that, Strock. And the arrest made, telegraph me.
After that, the matter will be in my hands."
"Count on me, Mr. Ward; at any hour, day or night, I shall be ready
to start with my men. I thank you for having entrusted this mission
to me. If it succeeds, it will be a great honor--"
"And of great profit," added my chief, dismissing me.
Returning home, I made all preparations for a trip of indefinite
duration. Perhaps my good housekeeper imagined that I planned a
return to the Great Eyrie, which she regarded as an ante-chamber of
hell itself. She said nothing, but went about her work with a most
despairing face. Nevertheless, sure as I was of her discretion, I
told her nothing. In this great mission I would confide in no one.
My choice of the two men to accompany me was easily made. They both
belonged to my own department, and had many times under my direct
command given proofs of their vigor, courage and intelligence. One,
John Hart, of Illinois, was a man of thirty years; the other, aged
thirty-two, was Nab Walker, of Massachusetts. I could not have had
better assistants.
Several days passed, without news, either of the automobile, the
boat, or the submarine. There were rumors in plenty; but the police
knew them to be false. As to the reckless stories that appeared in
the newspapers, they had most of them, no foundation whatever. Even
the best journals cannot be trusted to refuse an exciting bit of news
on the mere ground of its unreliability.
Then, twice in quick succession, there came what seemed trustworthy
reports of the "man of the hour." The first asserted that he had been
seen on the roads of Arkansas, near Little Rock. The second, that he
was in the very middle of Lake Superior.
Unfortunately, these two notices were absolutely unreconcilable; for
while the first gave the afternoon of June twenty-sixth, as the time
of appearance, the second set it for the evening of the same day.
Now, these two points of the United States territory are not less
than eight hundred miles apart. Even granting the automobile this
unthinkable speed, greater than any it had yet shown, how could it
have crossed all the intervening country unseen? How could it
traverse the States of Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa and Wisconsin, from
end to end without anyone of our agents giving us warning, without
any interested person rushing to a telephone?
After these two momentary appearances, if appearances they were, the
machine again dropped out of knowledge. Mr. Ward did not think it
worth while to dispatch me and my men to either point whence it had
been reported.
Yet since this marvelous machine seemed still in existence, something
must be done. The following official notice was published in every
newspaper of the United States under July 3d. It was couched in the
most formal terms.
"During the month of April, of the present year, an automobile
traversed the roads of Pennsylvania, of Kentucky, of Ohio, of
Tennessee, of Missouri, of Illinois; and on the twenty-seventh of
May, during the race held by the American Automobile Club, it covered
the course in Wisconsin. Then it disappeared.
"During the first week of June, a boat maneuvering at great speed
appeared off the coast of New England between Cape Cod and Cape
Sable, and more particularly around Boston. Then it disappeared.
"In the second fortnight of the same month, a submarine boat was run
beneath the waters of Lake Kirdall, in Kansas. Then it disappeared.
"Everything points to the belief that the same inventor must have
built these three machines, or perhaps that they are the same
machine, constructed so as to travel both on land and water.
"A proposition is therefore addressed to the said inventor, whoever
he be, with the aim of acquiring the said machine.
"He is requested to make himself known and to name the terms upon
which he will treat with the United States government. He is also
requested to answer as promptly as possible to the Department of
Federal Police, Washington, D. C., United States of America."
Such was the notice printed in large type on the front page of every
newspaper. Surely it could not fail to reach the eye of him for whom
it was intended, wherever he might be. He would read it. He could
scarce fail to answer it in some manner. And why should he refuse
such an unlimited offer? We had only to await his reply.
One can easily imagine how high the public curiosity rose. From
morning till night, an eager and noisy crowd pressed about the bureau
of police, awaiting the arrival of a letter or a telegram. The best
reporters were on the spot. What honor, what profit would come to the
paper which was first to publish the famous news! To know at last the
name and place of the undiscoverable unknown! And to know if he would
agree to some bargain with the government! It goes without saying
that America does things on a magnificent scale. Millions would not
be lacking for the inventor. If necessary all the millionaires in the
country would open their inexhaustible purses!
The day passed. To how many excited and impatient people it seemed to
contain more than twenty-four hours! And each hour held far more than
sixty minutes! There came no answer, no letter, no telegram! The
night following, there was still no news. And it was the same the
next day and the next.
There came, however another result, which had been fully foreseen.
The cables informed Europe of what the United States government had
done. The different Powers of the Old World hoped also to obtain
possession of the wonderful invention. Why should they not struggle
for an advantage so tremendous? Why should they not enter the contest
with their millions?
In brief, every great Power took part in the affair, France, England,
Russia, Italy, Austria, Germany. Only the states of the second order
refrained from entering, with their smaller resources, upon a useless
effort. The European press published notices identical with that of
the United States. The extraordinary "chauffeur" had only to speak,
to become a rival to the Vanderbilts, the Astors, the Goulds, the
Morgans, and the Rothschilds of every country of Europe.
And, when the mysterious inventor made no sign, what attractive
offers were held forth to tempt him to discard the secrecy in which
he was enwrapped! The whole world became a public market, an auction
house whence arose the most amazing bids. Twice a day the newspapers
would add up the amounts, and these kept rising from millions to
millions. The end came when the United States Congress, after a
memorable session, voted to offer the sum of twenty million dollars.
And there was not a citizen of the States of whatever rank, who
objected to the amount, so much importance was attached to the
possession of this prodigious engine of locomotion. As for me, I said
emphatically to my old housekeeper: "The machine is worth even more
than that."
Evidently the other nations of the world did not think so, for their
bids remained below the final sum. But how useless was this mighty
struggle of the great rivals! The inventor did not appear! He did not
exist! He had never existed! It was all a monstrous pretense of the
American newspapers. That, at least, became the announced view of the
Old World.
And so the time passed. There was no further news of our man, there
was no response from him. He appeared no more. For my part, not
knowing what to think, I commenced to lose all hope of reaching any
solution to the strange affair.
Then on the morning of the fifteenth of July, a letter without
postmark was found in the mailbox of the police bureau. After the
authorities had studied it, it was given out to the Washington
journals, which published it in facsimile, in special numbers. It was
couched as follows:
More
-
Aegri Somnia
The following day 10th January, the Nautilus continued her course between two seas, but with such remarkable speed that I could not estimate it at less than thirty-five miles an hour. The rapidity of her screw was such that I could neither follow n... After A Few Words
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No longer, then, could there be any doubt as to the annihilation of a considerable portion of the colony. Not merely had there been a submersion of the land, but the impression was more and more confirmed that the very bowels of the earth must hav... An Osnomian Marriage
Seaton awoke, hot and uncomfortable, but with a great surge of joy in his heart--this was his wedding day! Springing from the bed, he released the full stream of the "cold" water, filling the tank in a few moments. Poising lightly upon the edge, h... An Unequal Duel
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This unexpected fall so stunned me that I have no clear recollection of my sensations at the time. I was at first drawn down to a depth of about twenty feet. I am a good swimmer (though without pretending to rival Byron or Edgar Poe, who were mast... An Unseen Hunter
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I glanced at the clock on the mantel. It was five minutes to eight: time to leave, if I was to get a decent breakfast before I went to the office. I found an old hat in the closet and put it on. It would do until I had time to buy another. Last... Anguish
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Turan dashed himself against the door of his prison in a vain effort to break through the solid skeel to the side of Tara whom he knew to be in grave danger, but the heavy panels held and he succeeded only in bruising his shoulders and his arms. At ... Another Light-ray!
The news that Mercer and Anina had been left in the Twilight Country completely dumfounded Miela and me. "Something was wrong," Mercer had said. And then they had insisted on staying there, and had sent the girls back to tell me to come over. W... Another Treasure Expedition
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Ten o'clock the next morning found Mr. Marvel, unshaven, dirty, and travel-stained, sitting with the books beside him and his hands deep in his pockets, looking very weary, nervous, and uncomfortable, and inflating his cheeks at infrequent interva... At Seventy-eight Thousand Five Hundred And Fourteen Leagues
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Tara of Helium did not return to her father's guests, but awaited in her own apartments the word from Djor Kantos which she knew must come, begging her to return to the gardens. She would then refuse, haughtily. But no appeal came from Djor Kantos. ... At The House In Great Portland Street
For a moment Kemp sat in silence, staring at the back of the headless figure at the window. Then he started, struck by a thought, rose, took the Invisible Man's arm, and turned him away from the outlook. "You are tired," he said, "and while I s... At The Mercy Of The Winds
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Felix fell on the seat beside her, burying his face in the folds of her dress; he sobbed, not with tears, but choking passion. She held him to her heart as if he had been a child, stroking his hair and kissing it, whispering to him, assuring him t... Away From The Warpath
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Will had not neglected to take numerous photographs of Summit Island, the flag and staff; and with his kodak he had stepped outside the circle and taken a "shot" at them as they circled about the mast, protected from cruel Jack Frost by a wall of ... Battle With A Monster
Minutes passed, while the earthmen hardly dared breathe. Their ebbing heartbeat seemed to almost echo in their breasts. Then the object appeared at the opening, hesitated, and was thrust in! The hammer was a head!!! It swayed back and forth, lik... Battling In The Arena
Slowly I regained my composure and finally essayed again to attempt to remove the keys from the dead body of my former jailer. But as I reached out into the darkness to locate it I found to my horror that it was gone. Then the truth flashed on m... Beauty And The Beast
One day, about two weeks later, von Horn and the professor were occupied closely with their work in the court of mystery. Developments were coming in riotous confusion. A recent startling discovery bade fare to simplify and expedite the work far... Beauty And The Beast
On the following morning all were up early, and enjoyed a long walk before breakfast in the park. They did not see the Count until breakfast time. He was in a very pleasant mood, and, after inquiring how they had rested, turning to Dr. Jones he sa... Ben Zoof Watches In Vain
In a few minutes the governor general and his population were asleep. The gourbi being in ruins, they were obliged to put up with the best accommodation they could find in the adjacent erection. It must be owned that the captain's slumbers were by... Beside Still Waters
The youth in the multi-coloured blazer laughed. "You'd have to come and be a nurse," he suggested. "Oh, I'd go as a drummer-boy. I'd look fine in uniform, wouldn't I?" the waitress simpered in return. Dennis Burnham swallowed his liqueur in... Between Mars And Jupiter
After all the tension of preparing for it, the trip out seemed interminable. They were all impatient to reach their destination. During blastoff and accelleration they had watched Mars dwindle to a tiny red dot; then time seemed to stop altoget... Bird Beast Or Fish?
"These jewels rather puzzle me, Dick. What are they?" asked Martin, as the four assembled, waiting for the first meal. As he spoke he held up his third finger, upon which gleamed the royal jewel of Osnome in its splendid Belcher mounting of arenak...