ub. Nothing could
be truer than that it contained the three world renowned men and that it
now lay in the black depths of the Pacific Ocean.

But here opinions began to diverge. Some courageous breasts soon refused
to accept the prevalent idea.

"They're killed by the shock!" cried the crowd.

"Killed?" exclaimed the hopeful ones; "Not a bit of it! The water here
is deep enough to break a fall twice as great."

"They're smothered for want of air!" exclaimed the crowd.

"Their stock may not be run out yet!" was the ready reply. "Their air
apparatus is still on hand."

"They're burned to a cinder!" shrieked the crowd.

"They had not time to be burned!" answered the Band of Hope. "The
Projectile did not get hot till it reached the atmosphere, through which
it tore in a few seconds."

"If they're neither burned nor smothered nor killed by the shock,
they're sure to be drowned!" persisted the crowd, with redoubled
lamentations.

"Fish 'em up first!" cried the Hopeful Band. "Come! Let's lose no time!
Let's fish 'em up at once!"

The cries of Hope prevailed. The unanimous opinion of a council of the
officers hastily summoned together by the Captain was to go to work and
fish up the Projectile with the least possible delay. But was such an
operation possible? asked a doubter. Yes! was the overwhelming reply;
difficult, no doubt, but still quite possible. Certainly, however, such
an attempt was not immediately possible as the _Susquehanna_ had no
machinery strong enough or suitable enough for a piece of work involving
such a nicety of detailed operations, not to speak of its exceeding
difficulty. The next unanimous decision, therefore, was to start the
vessel at once for the nearest port, whence they could instantly
telegraph the Projectile's arrival to the Baltimore Gun Club.

But what _was_ the nearest port? A serious question, to answer which in
a satisfactory manner the Captain had to carefully examine his sailing
charts. The neighboring shores of the California Peninsula, low and
sandy, were absolutely destitute of good harbors. San Diego, about a
day's sail directly north, possessed an excellent harbor, but, not yet
having telegraphic communication with the rest of the Union, it was of
course not to be thought of. San Pedro Bay was too open to be approached
in winter. The Santa Barbara Channel was liable to the same objection,
not to mention the trouble often caused by kelp and wintry fogs. The bay
of San Lui