rs an exclamation of horror rather than surprise, as they stood
aghast, for _treachery_ seemed to have been at work!

"An enemy in the ship!" murmured one.

"What ship without an enemy?" thought another.

That mischief had been intended was obvious, for a piece of iron wire,
bright as if cut with nippers at one end and broken off short at the
other, had been driven right through the centre of the cable, so as to
touch the inner wires--thus forming a leak, or conductor, into the sea.
There could be no doubt that it had not got there by accident; neither
had it been driven there during the making or shipping of the cable, for
in that case the testings for continuity would have betrayed its
presence before the starting of the expedition. The piece of wire, too,
was the same size as that which formed the protecting cover, and it was
of the exact diameter of the cable. There was also the mark of a cut on
the Manilla hemp, where the wire had entered. It could have been done
only by one of the men who were at work in the tank at the time the
portion went over, and, strange to say, this was the same gang which had
been at work there when the previous "fault" occurred.

"Call all the men aft," was the order that quickly followed this
discovery.

The piece of cable was handed to them, and they were allowed to examine
it in silence. They did so in great surprise, mingled with indignation.

"It's bin done a'purpose, an' driven in by a skilful hand," said one.

"You're right, Joe," said another.

"I knows," whispered a third, "that _one_ of the men expressed
satisfaction when the last fault occurred, an' I've heard say that we've
got enemies to the makers o' the cable aboard."

The man thus darkly referred to, whoever he was, of course looked as
innocent and as indignant as the most virtuous among them; the guilt,
therefore, could not be brought home to him. Woe betide him if it had
been, for there was a serious talk of lynching some one among the
wrathful men, each of whom was now subject to suspicion.

In these trying circumstances, the chief engineer accepted an offer made
by the gentlemen in the ship, to take turn about in superintending the
men at work in the tank paying-out the cable.

"It's not pleasant, of course," replied one of the men, speaking for the
rest, "but we feel it to be justifiable, as well as necessary, and are
very glad the plan has been adopted."

Once more the big ship went merrily on her w