Chapter II: The Regina Gives Up Her Secret

“And now I will unclasp a secret book,
And to your quick-conceiving discontent,
I’ll read you matter deep and dangerous.”
(+Shakespeare.+)

The day following, the three friends met at Dennis’s home, and at once proceeded to the shed in which the stately _Regina_ was housed. On entering, Dennis moved a switch and a revolving steel shutter slowly descended from before one side of the shed, the whole of which was lined with thick glass; at another movement a similar shutter slid from above the glass roof, and a third movement caused this roof to fold itself up and slide aside, leaving the top open to the sky throughout its entire length.

Both the visitors uttered an exclamation of delight at sight of the stately vessel, the lines of which sent them into raptures of pleasure and wonderment.

“You are a lucky dog, Oakland, to have a creature like that all your own!” said Gilbert, enthusiastically. “What is the material?”

“I don’t know,” replied Dennis; “no one knows beyond that it is some untarnishable alloy, probably from the fact that no one can examine it. See, I throw this hammer at it and you will see it de-atomise,” saying which, with a fine disregard of tools, he lifted up a heavy steel hammer and flung it at the vessel, but when it came within about a foot of the side it suddenly vanished and there appeared a little puff of faint, thin vapour—the gaseous atoms of the missile—which became mixed with and lost in the air of the shed.

“There’s an enormous force there,” observed Ross, amazed. “What generates it? Batteries?”

“No one knows,” answered Dennis, “that is one of the mysteries. If it came from the engines or dynamos on the vessel, they would have been run out or worn out ages ago; we should also hear motion of some kind, but you will notice everything is silent as the grave. Listen!” and they all remained mute and motionless for a few minutes, but not a sound disturbed the vault-like quietude.

“Batteries would be equally out of the question,” remarked Gilbert; “apart from the quantity needed to give a constant current of that strength, they would require recharging and replenishing, and perpetual motion has not yet been discovered.”

“That is so,” agreed Ross. “I think we must seek some other cause, some means by which the force is spontaneously extracted from the air or earth around. You know our airships have no engines to drive the motors; we gather the necessary power for this direct from the air by the aid of certain metals which, when alloyed in given proportions, attract electricity to any desired volume and under perfect control, and I think some such force is here. Have you tried any of the active metals?”

“Yes, all; everything!” replied Dennis. “She is a strange anomaly; she has engines and motors which are necessary for her flight in some way, and yet there is a continuous current, as you see, which apparently comes from nowhere. And one would think that if such a force is self-generating, engines and motors would not be necessary. The whole thing is a mystery; especially when you consider that one might almost imagine her to be alive, or that some demon is on board who manipulates the forces, for if any electric energy or metal comes in her vicinity, she seems to get her blessed temper up and literally fights. At the mere approach she crackles all over and throws out sparks of fire and lightning that have more than once blasted the shed to the ground, and everything has had to be strongly insulated, or there would be an electric storm;” and Dennis drew their attention to the building, saying, “You will notice all the tools are insulated and the whole interior of the shed lined with sheets of thick glass cemented together, the masonry and shutters being on the outside.”

After examining the building, Gilbert remarked,— “You mentioned last night, Oakland, that the gravity of the ship and the earth were equal; consequently she possesses no weight and could be floated off. Have you tried strong blasts of air? Theoretically, a breath would waft her.”

“I have had fans and blowers, but the strange force around her stops everything. I have even made fires underneath, thinking to sink her by rarefying the air (and so causing her to settle as the air became thinner), but she did not move. It is exasperating when one knows she would divulge everything if one could but get aboard. She is also such a source of danger and terrible care to have on one’s mind, that if you cannot win her it is possible you may find some means of destroying her; I really don’t mind which! But there she stands in the most aggravating fashion, quietly defying everything and everybody,” and Dennis’s annoyance was evident and excusable.

“As you say, Oakland,” remarked Ross, “she’s a tough nut to crack, full of apparent anomalies and impossibilities and, while uncontrolled, dangerous in the extreme. Have you tried to register the strength of the current?”

“Yes, but it is unregisterable. Nothing, no matter how strongly insulated, can pass the zone, in which there is no demarcation. The dial shows no current at all till it reaches the protecting belt, not even when moved by micrometer screws working in gear, and there is a point when nothing is recorded; the next turn forward, even of a two-millionth of an inch, and the whole apparatus is vapour. I have used some scores in this way, but these are expensive experiments.

“I have thought several times of encasing myself in an exceedingly effective insulating suit and making a dash for the ladder, or dropping on deck from above, for then I might get below to the safe, but when I tested the suit first, filled with sawdust, by dropping it from the roof, it never reached the deck but became vapour, so I was glad I had experimented with a dummy.”

“Not a bad way of getting rid of rubbish,” said Ross, laughing.

“Yes, but a little too dangerous,” replied Dennis, “especially if it had been me instead of the sawdust,” and he laughed boisterously, when, seeing the others looked slightly mystified, he stopped abruptly and continued soberly,—“Do you think, Ainley, that you could do anything to crack this nut if Eastern helped you?”

“We will try,” Ross replied, speaking also for his friend. “The secrets of the pyramids and the sphinx have been laid bare, and maybe this beautiful creature shall float again,” and his voice took upon itself a more serious tone as he continued,—“Oakland, it is often said that the whole current of lives and destinies of persons and countries may be changed in a moment as if by chance, and, with your permission, we, Gilbert and I, for we talked it over last night after you left us, will give up our present work and devote the rest of our lives if need be to cut this Gordian knot, and if we fail, we may pave the way for others to bring this treasure under control again.”

Before Dennis could reply, Gilbert said, eagerly, “I will stand by my friend Ross and you, Oakland, in this work all my life, if I may, and if we do not succeed we can die at our unfinished work!”

“Thank you, my friends!” responded Dennis, somewhat overcome; “you shall not regret it. Let it be so. I had not intended spending another moment on her, but your enthusiastic devotion to science has warmed my blood, and from this moment I will work with you and we will all devote our lives to this one object, whether it demands little or the whole of them, and our interests shall be united.”

All were deeply moved, and the whole of that and many subsequent days were taken up in going through papers and books containing particulars of the work done in previous years. Ever since the death of the first Jervis Meredith, the succeeding generations had recorded all the details of their work, and had dealt with the problem in such a masterly manner as appeared to leave nothing to be tried that had not been done already. After the three had gone through everything together, weighing each step of progress carefully, the enigma became more and more puzzling. For weeks they spent every moment working and discussing, bringing all the latest science to bear on the previous work; and month followed month till at the end of two years they had to acknowledge themselves hopelessly vanquished, for there seemed nothing more to try.

During this time several storms had occurred in the neighbourhood, and they had witnessed the whole interior of the shed, to the insulating glass casing, as one mass of awful lightning and electric discharge, which had left the vessel serenely victorious. In one storm they were watching through glasses at a safe distance, the peculiar form the discharges took gave them an idea upon which they acted, after careful discussion together.

Two months later the solution seemed solved; but was it?

Like three schoolboys they approached the airship in great trepidation; up to a few minutes previously, for centuries everything brought near its surface had been instantly volatilised, irrespective of its substance and chemical composition; and in the first flush of excitement, they had joyfully flung their hats at the ship and they had struck the hitherto defiant Queen, now docile and manageable again, for the hats were resting on the supporting stage on which they had fallen—the first time for centuries that anything had passed that awful zone of destruction. Would _they_ pass, or become vaporous? Dennis insisted on being the first to venture, saying he could not allow others to do that from which he shrank, and amidst great emotion he grasped sleeves with both his friends, bade them good-bye, and one second later he was standing on the ladder top, where no living creature had expected to tread. The instant the anxious watchers saw Dennis touch the ladder they rushed for it and ran up like a couple of monkeys, reaching the platform almost as soon as he, and tingling with excited enthusiasm, the three passed through the vessel to the safe.

Dennis knew from his papers where the keys were, and unlocking the desk drawer, the key of which had been handed down to him through the past generations as a sacred heirloom, he obtained the _Regina’s_ safe-keys, and soon the sheets of drawings and details were lying on the table, all three almost devouring them in their eagerness, for now the greatest secret of the world was about to be disclosed. Their scientific matter-of-factness gave place to boyish and exuberant delight which could not be repressed. They took the precaution to reconstruct the protecting force to prevent intrusion—although the shed had been locked before putting their discovery to the test—and then they became so absorbed in the study of the minute descriptions of the mechanism and forces now at their disposal that twelve hours passed unheeded.

“This is stupendous!” at length exclaimed Gilbert. “There is enough force here to destroy the world! And now we have gone through everything and know the principle, it is easy enough to work it blindfold, almost. But what’s the matter?” he asked, looking at Dennis, who stood perfectly still, listening.

“I fancied I heard voices in the shed,” he replied, “but I am sure we locked the door, I went back to see.”

“It would be awkward if any one came too near the ship,” said Ross; “although every one knows the danger. I’ll just look outside.” He stepped up to the observatory and was astonished to find the door down and the shed crowded with people.

Calling the others up, the three stood and watched, and, gently opening the door a mere chink, they heard every word spoken below.

The crowd was greatly excited, and one man, Richard Howett, the chief personage in the town, said,—

“My friends, it is with extreme regret that we learn of the deaths of our townsman, Dennis Oakland, and his two friends, Ross Ainley and Gilbert Eastern, all men of high standing and renown. It needs no proof to convince us that they have shared the fate of all the foolhardy people who previously have ventured too near this magnificent but fatal vessel, for they were seen to be working here yesterday and have not returned. The door was locked on the inside and you see there are no hiding-places, and they could not return except by means of the door which we have just broken down, so that the calamitous fate they have met is most deplorable.”

Here the three listeners chuckled, unconscious of which the speaker continued,—“As soon as the news of a possible disaster reached me, I obtained the permission of the authorities to break open the place and blow up the vessel, as a danger and menace no longer to be tolerated.”

“That has been tried many a time, and no explosive has ever been able to touch it,” objected some one in the crowd. “When I worked for Dennis Oakland, some five or six years ago, he himself tried to blow up the ship, but he only brought the shed down.”

“What explosive did he use?” asked the first speaker.

“We bored under the ship and he used rystosol, which blew the whole place down and the foundations also, but the vessel stayed where she was, hanging on air, and none of us would work at it again.”

“That is strange; nothing has ever been known to withstand it. However, we will try a very heavy charge. All of you except three volunteers go outside to a safe distance.”

As they made a movement for the door, and about twenty volunteers stepped forward instead of the three asked for, Dennis, remembering one of the early experiments of his ancestor, told his friends to look out for some fun and instantly altered the de-atomising force to one of protection only, so that any one touching the vessel would receive an electric shock of sufficient strength to teach him caution, but not to prove injurious. He then moved a switch, gently at first, as he was not sure if the power really was as much under control as the instructions stated. Very slowly all the people in the shed became lighter; one man, his former workman, taking a stride towards Richard Howett, stepped right over his head, landing with one foot on the _Regina’s_ outer deck. With a yell of fright he slid down her sloping sides, but long before he could reach the ground he was so light as to be floating about like a butterfly. In a panic the whole company made a dash for the doorway, but ere they could reach it Dennis made them sufficiently light to float about in the room a few feet above, their vain efforts to jerk themselves downwards low enough to pass out causing them to look like living corks bobbing up and down in water, and to the three watchers it was indescribably funny to see the consternation on the faces of the floating citizens, who could not comprehend the situation. After they had taken the edge off their mirth, the three all stepped on the outer deck, which they insulated—for any part of the vessel and surroundings could be insulated or brought in circuit at will—and the sudden sight of the supposed victims in the very zone of death caused several of the floating people to give an exclamation of terror, thinking they were spirits. Dennis saw this and addressed them, tragically,—

“Ye floating spirits, what would ye! Come ye to this abode of death to attend our apotheosis? Why come ye to disturb our repose?—Gently, gently, my friends!” he interjected, as he wafted off, with a wave of his hand, a few of the people who were drawn towards him with the air disturbed by his movements. Then the laughter of his two companions broke the spell, and many of the people laughed and cried, for all were hysterical and frightened, and some called on him in terror to spare their lives.

“We’ve gone far enough, Dennis!” remonstrated Gilbert. “Let them down gently, or they’ll faint with fear!”

Wafting and blowing away a few more who came too close, Dennis resumed, this time speaking in his usual tones,—

“My friends, do not be alarmed! We are not ghosts, but real flesh and blood and very much alive—excuse me!”—as he blew off a couple clinging together for protection. “My friends and I have discovered the long-lost secret of my ship, the _Regina_, now _our_ ship, for my two friends, Ross Ainley and Gilbert Eastern, join me in the ownership from this moment, and in order to prove to you that we really have found the secrets, the chief of which is the one and only scientific method of adding to and overcoming or depriving of gravity, we thought we could not do better than give you an actual demonstration of the fact, in return for your kindness in breaking down my door—our door, I should say—in order to favour us with this visit, the object of which is now frustrated, though you may be sure we appreciate your good intentions none the less. You will perceive—pardon me!” as he sent a few more away with a wave of his hand—“you will perceive that you have been made lighter, and were it not for the retaining walls of the shed, you would float away and for ever remain as far off the ground as you are now, and if weighted down you would inevitably rise on the weight being removed; also if you were made lighter still you would float upwards through the roof. For some reasons this would be an advantage, for in this age of aërial navigation it would be pleasant to know that in case of disaster you could never come crashing to earth, but would only fall through the air till you arrived at your equilibrium, or correct specific gravity, and the lower air would make your descent like that of a high diver in water, and you would have always a deep, soft cushion of air to fall upon on which you could take no hurt. Some of you, however, have business on the ground, and as some sage once suggested, if the ground will not come to you, you must perforce come to the ground—steady!”—as another citizen floated too near. “I notice several of you have already lost your tempers, which is bad for the nerves; you see we are quite placid and cool, though you have damaged much of our property, and had we not appeared in time, you would have blown the whole building to dust. For this you must forgive our joke; we do not bear malice, neither must you, and those who are not prepared to take this as a jest—and you can see it is perfectly harmless—I propose to float upwards just within the walls, with their heads only above the top till they are willing to see it in that light. I see several are looking alarmed, but I can assure all those who want to go up that they will come to no hurt; they cannot fall, and will be so light that they could not injure themselves, even wilfully, by bumping against the walls. To those who are convinced of the _Regina’s_ power, we will restore their former weight, and after we have had an hour to prepare the vessel, they shall be conducted by us through the ship, where no foot has trodden for centuries till yesterday, and they will see that after this lapse of time everything is as perfect and dustless as if just new, for the protecting force that has caused the death of several people has preserved the vessel from damp, heat, and even dust. We want that hour to cord the way, for the mechanism cannot be shown you and whoever goes beyond the cords will pay the penalty with his life. We do not anticipate throwing the vessel open to general inspection again and you only shall have this privilege. Now, all who desire to forgive and forget, please raise a hand!” Dennis looked round and proceeded: “I am much pleased to see there is not a single dissentient, and that smiles have replaced frowns. In a few seconds’ time you will be restored to your personal comfort and weight.” Here Dennis nodded to Gilbert, who entered the vessel and slowly removed the switch back to zero; as gradually did the people fall.

When they knew there was no danger and that they had not been suddenly transformed into angels—which many had often expressed a desire to become—they could see the humorous side; who could not? for who could remain serious and see sixty or seventy people of all ages and conditions bobbing up and down light as feathers, actually blowing one another away? Even before they reached the ground tears of laughter were on all faces as they struggled to congratulate the three owners, in the best of good humour. After the preparation they went round the vessel and saw what even in that enlightened age were hitherto inconceivable wonders, and finally the vessel was cleared, the outside protected as before, in proof of which several missiles were hurled within the zone and all present saw them vaporised. Willing hands helped to fix up the door as before, and the shed was closed and locked securely to shelter the gigantic Queen, still a deadly enigma to all in the world except three persons, but to them a kind and gracious mistress, ready and willing at any moment to do their bidding and to carry them to the utmost confines of creation, to open out wonders and mysteries hitherto beyond mortal ken.

Weary as they were, they sat talking the matter over for several hours, and then retired to rest, feeling that life was indeed worth living and work a blessed privilege.

Needless to say, the instant the people had got outside the shed news began to travel far and fast; before nightfall it was telepathed all over the world, and airships by scores came to Derwent; the sky was full of them, almost every stratum of atmosphere having hundreds of ships jostling one another, each hoping to catch a glimpse of their wonderful rival; but the _Regina_, in her protected and armoured shed, was safe from all observation and theft. The door, which had only been partially fastened when the crowd broke in, was now thoroughly secure and in electric circuit.

Twice the same night Dennis’s house was broken into and the three friends were roused by the alarms, which at the same time frightened the would-be thieves, who no doubt thought the papers might have been brought away for examination, notwithstanding the self-evident fact that no place in the world could be more secure than the _Regina_ safe.

The following day a deputation from the Government with the State authority and seal waited upon Dennis and asked for the _Regina_ and her secrets to be handed over to the Government. On this being refused, they demanded it, then threatened, trying to bluster the secrets out of the discoverers by force and threats, but at every outburst they were referred to and shown a copy of the warrant of absolute protection granted by H.M. King Edward VII., of blessed memory, and his Parliament, centuries before. Eventually the deputation had to return foiled, for not even the Government could go beyond that warrant.

Untold wealth and high positions were offered, but what is wealth when all have enough and none can be oppressed? No, the _Regina_ should not be bought, she was too precious to be sold; she should be the sweet, lovely and gracious Queen to the end, and _give_ her power for the cause of science, for the good of the whole human race; she should benefit the people and lead them to the contemplation of higher and nobler things, and be really and truly in everything their Queen—not for any personal gain to her supporters, but to unfold before all men, as only she could, the wonders of creation which would otherwise be hidden.