t bits of news."

He nodded slowly.

"Yes, that was in the days before the crack."

"Yet you expected to take care of possible leaks, you know," I
countered.

"But this crack opened after the tunnel had been dug past it, and lately
it has opened more."

"Are the other engineers alarmed?"

"No. We are easily taking care of the extra water and again the opening
seems to remain at a stationary width as it has for the past three
years. But we cannot caulk it."

"Are you going to publish these views?"

"No. I made out a minority report. I can do no more."

"Dutch, you are becoming over-cautious. First sign of old age."

"Perhaps," with the old smile.

"But after all it is now more than three years since we have had a talk
on the Tube. After it began to function as well as the Air-Express you
sort of lost interest in it."

"And the world did too."

"Certainly--but the public ever was a fickle mistress. Who said that
before me?"

He laughed and blew out a long puff of smoke.

"Everyone, Bob."

"But as to the Tube, if I cross under the sea, I would want to be as
well informed on the road as I was three years ago. Now in the meantime,
you have dropped interest in the long tunnel while I have become more
interested in textiles--with the result that I have forgotten all I ever
did know--which compared to your grasp of the details, was little
enough."

* * * * *

But his face showed none of the old-time animation on the subject. What
a different man, I mused to myself, from that enthusiastic engineering
student that I used to come upon dreaming over his blue-prints. He was
considered "half-cracked" in those days when he would enthuse over his
undersea railroad, but his animated face was lit with inspiration. Now
the light was gone.

"Well, Dutch, how about it? Aren't you going to make me that brief
little sketch of the length plan and cross-section of the Tube? I
remember your sketch of it in college, and it tends to confuse me with
the real changes that were made necessary when the wind-propulsion
method was adopted."

"All right, old timer. You remember that the Tube was widened at the
sides in order that we could make two circular tubes side by side--one
going each way."

"I had forgotten that they were circular."

"That is because of the pressure. A circle presents the best
resistance," and picking an odd envelope from his pocket, he made the
following sketch and pa