OUR NEW SERIAL.

Mataura Ensign, Issue 1272, 29 December 1903, Page 4

OUR NEW SERIAL.

(Bj Jules Verne.) Chapter VI. —Continued.

'«TOP3Y TURVY."

"Let us say at some time sooner or later," continued the president, calmly, "and let us suppose, too, that we will even discover new coal fields yet, whoso coal will give out, say, at the end of the nineteenth century." Here he stopped to give his listeners a chance to grasp the idea. Then he began again. "Therefore we have come here, subscribers, and I ask you to rise and go with me to the North Pole immediately." Every body present got up and seemed about to rush away to

pack their trunks, as if President Barbicane had a vessel ready to take them direct to the North Pole. But a remark made by Major Donellan in a clear and loud voice brought them back to reality and stopped tbem at once. "Before starting,"' he asked, "I would like to know by what means we can reach the North Pole?" "Either by water, or land, or by air," quietly answered President Barbicane. All the people present sat down and it may readily be understood with what a feeling of curiosity. "In spite of the devotion and courage of previous explorers, the 84th parallel has thus far boon the northern limit reached. And it may fairly be supposed that that is as far North as anybody will ever get by the means employed at the present day. Up to the present time we have only used boats and vessels to reach the icebergs and tat ts to pass over the fields of ice. People should no! adopt such rash means and face the dangers to which they are exposed through the low temperature. We must employ other means to reach the North Pole."

It could be seen by the excitement which took hold of the auditors that they were on the point of hearing the secret which has been so vigorously searched for by every one. "And how will you reach it?" demandid the delegate of England. "Before ten minutes have passed you will know it. Major Donellan," said President Barbicane, "and I may add in addressing myself to all the stockholders, that they should have confidence in us as the promoters of this affair, for wo are the same who have tried to send a projectile to the moon." "Yes," cried Dean Toodrink, sarcastically, "they tried to go as far as the moon. And we can easily see that they are here yet" President Barbicane ignored the interruption. Shrugging his shoulders, ho said in a loud voice: "Yes, ladies and gentlemen, in ten minutes you will know what we are going to do." A murmur, made up of many "Ahs!" and "Ohs!" followed the remark. It seemed to them as if the orator had said in ton minutes they would be at the North Pole. He then continued in the following words: "First of all, it is a continent which forms this Arctic region, or it is an ocean, and has Commander Nares been right in calling it 'paleocrystic ocean,' which means an ocean of old ice? To this question I must answer that I think he was not right."

"This is not sufficient," exclaimed Eric Baldenak. "It is not the qucs'.un of supposing, it is the question of being certain."

"Well, we are certain," came the answer to this curious inquirer. "Yes, it is a solid continent and not an ice ocean which the N. P. P. A. has purchased and which now belongs to the United States and which no European power lias the right to touch." A little murmur came from the neighborhood of the delegates of the Old World. "Bah!" they said. "It is full of water, a regular wash-basin which yin: will not be able to empty." Dean Tmwlrink as usual made most of the remarks and met the hearty applause of bis a>sociates. "No, sir." answered President Barbicane, quickly. "There I- a regular continent, a platform which rises like the Gobi desert in Central Asia, three or four kilometers above the Mirface of the ocean. This is very easy to he seen from the observations made in the neighboring countries, of which the Polar region is only an extension, "After their explorations have not Nordenskiold, Perry and Maaigaard stated that Greenland gets higher and higher towards the North Pole?

"Besides, they have found birds, different products and vegetables in tho Northern ice—ivory teeth also —which indicate that this region must have been inhabited and that animals must have been there, and perhaps peoplo as well. There used to be largo forests there, which must have been formed into coalfields, which we will explore. Yes, there is a continent, without doubt, around the North Pole—a continent free from all human beings, and on which we will place the banner of the United States." At this remark the auditors expressed great delight. When the noise had finally subsided Major Donellan could be heard to remark: "Well, seven minutes have already gone by of the ten which, as you say, would be sufficient to reach the North Pole." "We shall be there in three minutes," coolly answered President Barbicane. "But even if this be a continent which constitutes your purchase, and if it is a raised country, as we may have reasons to believe, it is also obstructed by eternal ice, and in a condition which will make exploration extremely difficult," responded the Major. "Impossible!" cried Jan H&rald, who emphasized this remark with a wave of his hand. "Impossible, all right," said Impey Barbicane. "But it is to conquer this impossibility that we have purchased this region. We will need neither vessels nor rafts to reach tho North Pole; no thanks to our operations, the ice and icebergs, new or old, will melt by themselves, and it will not ?ost one dnll'" "* r»<- -—->al nor one TnTiratoiDf onftlme. r ~Bn'Ffs tnere was absolute silence. The most important moment had come. "Gentlemen," said the president of the gun club, "Archimedes only asked for a lever to lift the world. Well, this lever we have found. We are now in a position to lift the North Pole." "What! remove the North Pole?" cried Eric Baldenak. "Will you bring it to America?" asked Jan Harald. Without doubt President Barbicane did not wish to explain him-

sol* just yet, for he continued: "In regard to this point of leverage—"

"Do not tell it! do not tell it!" cried one of his associates, with a terrible voice.

"In regard to this lever—" '"*' "Keep the secret! Keep the secret!" cried the majority of the spectators, taking up the cry. "We will keep it," said President Barbicane.

Naturally, the European delegates were very much vexed at this remark. This will be easily understood. In spite of all these exclamations the orator never had any intention of making his plan known. He continued to say: "We obtained our object, thanks to a mechanical device, one which has no precedent in the annals of industrial art. We will undertake it and bring it to a successful finish by means of our capital, and how' I will inform you forthwith."

"Hear! hear!" s*aid others present. "First of all, the idea of our plan comes from one of the ablest, most devoted and illustrious calculators and one of our associates as well," said President Barbicane. "One to whom we owe all the calculations which allows us to have our work in such good condition. As the exploration of the North Pole is not a piece of play the removal of the Pole is a problem which could only be solved by the highest calculations. Therefore we have called the assistance of the honorable secretary, Mr. J. T. Maston."

"Hip, hip, hip, hurrah, for J. T. Maston!" exclaimed all the auditors, seemingly electrified by the presence of this extraordinary calculator. Mrs. Evangelina Scorbitt was deeply touched by this recognition of the celebrated mathematician, who had already iiuiraly gained her heart. He contented himself with turning his head to the right and left, bowing and thanking his auditors.

"Already, dear subscribers," said President Barbicane, "since the great meeting in honor of the arrival of the Frenchman, Michael Ardan, in America, some months before our departure for the moon" (and this confident Yankee spoke of the trip to the moon as quietly as if it were no more than a trip to New York) "J. T. Maston had already said to himself: 'We must invent machines to move the North Pole. We must find a point for action and put the axis ol tho earth in the right direction from the object.' Well, any or all of you who listen to mo find it if you can. I can only say the machines have been invented, the point of leverage lias been found, and now let us pay our attention to tho question of fixing, in the right way, for our end of the axis of tho earth." Hero he stopped speaking, and the astonishment which was expressed on the faces of his auditors it is impossible to describe. "What!" cried Major Donellan, "you then have the idea of putting the axis of the earth in another direction?" "Yes, sir," answered President Barbicane, promptly. "We have the meaiih of making a new one which will hereafter regulate the routine of day and niffht"

"You want to modify the daily rotation of the earth?" repeated Colonel Karkof, with fire in his eyes. "Absolutely, but without affecting its duration," answered President Barbie cane. "This operation will bring tho Polo at or about the 07th parallel of latitude, then the earth will be similar to the planet Jupiter, whoso axis is nearly perpendicular to the plane, of its orbit. Now, this movement of 2:1 degrees 38 minutes will be sufficient to u r ive at our North Pole such a degree of heat that it will melt in less than no time the icebergs and field which have been there for thousands of years."

The audience was out of breath. Nobody thought of interrupting the orator, even to applaud him. All were taken in by this idea, so ingenious and simple, of modifying the axis on which, this earthly spheroid is rotating. And as for the European delegates, well, they were simply stupefied, paralyzed and crushed, they kept their mouths shut in the last stage of astonishment. But the hurrahs seemed to rend tho hall asunder when President Barbicane made tho additional remark: "It is the sun which will take upon himself the melting of tho icebergs and fields iround the North Pole, and thus make icccss to the same very easy. So, as people can not go to the Pole, the Pole will tome to them."

(Tole continued*.

ber nf points, was won lor the second time by the Crnydon Siding Society, and it now bee mes their property. \ will be a social gathering of ail compe'. to J and others who have in any way ▼ assisted i" the °'' •' wt ' n tDe Tftnpetance Hail, G' re, on Wednesday, 6th Janumy, and the nriz's will be presented to the stccestiul comment-- t.- the same evening.