s bed, and sobbed as though his heart would break.

But such a state of things could not last. Men's spirits may be stunned
and crushed, but they are seldom utterly overwhelmed so long as life
endures.

Recovering from the shock, Mr Canning set about the process of
grappling for the lost cable with persistent energy. But fishing in
water two and a half miles deep is no easy matter. Nevertheless, it was
done. Again and again, and over again, were two monster hooks in the
shape of grapnels let down to the bottom of the sea, with an iron rope
for a line, and the Great Eastern for a float!

The plan, of course, was to go back a few miles on their course and then
drag across the known position of the lost treasure.

We say known, because good observations had fortunately been obtained by
Captain Anderson just before the accident.

Two hours did the grapnels descend before they reached the bottom of the
sea! All night did the cable-layers fish, with the characteristic
patience of fishermen, but did not get a nibble. Towards morning,
however, there was a decided bite, and the line became taut.

"Got him!" exclaimed an enthusiast eagerly.

"Don't be too sure," replied a philosopher cautiously.

"It may be a bit of wreck," suggested Ebenezer Smith, who was a natural
doubter.

"Or a whale, or the great sea-serpent," said the sporting electrician,
who was everything by turns and nothing long.

"We shall very soon know," remarked a matter-of-fact engineer. "If it
is a loose object the strain will decrease as it nears the surface, but
if it be the cable the strain will certainly increase, because its
weight will be greater the more of it we lift off the bottom."

Earnestly did every one regard the dynamometer which told the exact
amount of strain on the iron fishing-line, and to their joy the strain
_increased_ until the object caught had been raised three-quarters of a
mile from the bottom. Then a swivel gave way, and the cable went back
to its ocean-bed.

But those plucky engineers were not to be overcome by a first failure.
Having started with five miles of fishing-line, they proceed at once to
make a second attempt.

"Oh, I _do_ hope they will hook it again!" said Robin Wright.

"And so they will," said Ebenezer Smith.

And so they did. Late in the afternoon of the Monday following, their
fish was again hooked and raised a full mile from the bottom, when
another swivel gave way, and down it went a seco