"Where are the blocks? I don't see any," said Mrs. Blossom.

"They are all along the ca.n.a.l."

"I don't know what is meant by the block system," added Mrs. Belgrave.

"The railroads in England and the United States, or many of them, are run by this method. The whole length of the road, or ca.n.a.l in this case, is divided into short sections. On the railroad no train is permitted to enter a section till all other trains are out of it, and a collision is therefore impossible. The system is controlled by telegraph, by which signals are ordered at either end of the division. On the ca.n.a.l the director at Port Tewfik controls the movements of every ship on its pa.s.sage either way. These posts mark the sections. You will learn more of it when we get to the other end of the ca.n.a.l."

The breakfast gong sounded at this time, and the party were not so eager for knowledge as to pa.s.s over the morning meal.

CHAPTER XXII

THE Ca.n.a.l AND ITS SUGGESTIONS

The tourists had been up long enough to be in excellent condition for breakfast; and the Asiatic breezes from the south-east were cool and refreshing, for they came from the mountains of the peninsula of Sinai, where Moses had received the law from Heaven. There was something inspiring in this thought to the minds of the more religious members of the party when the commander announced the proximity of the sacred mountain after he had asked the blessing.

"How far is Mount Sinai from where we are now?" asked Mrs. Woolridge.

"I cannot tell you just how far it is at this moment, for my charts are in my cabin," replied Captain Ringgold. "We are not so near it as we shall be later; but you will all see it after we get into the Red Sea.

We will defer the subject till that time; and I should not have mentioned it if the south-east wind had not suggested it."

"I got a glance at an enormously big steamer ahead of us just as we were leaving the promenade," added Mr. Woolridge. "She looked as large as Noah's Ark, and appeared as though she was sailing over the land."

"Perhaps she was quite as large; for the pilot tells me that the Ophir is just ahead of us," added the commander.

"What is the Ophir?" asked Mrs. Belgrave.

"She is the largest of the Orient Line of steamers, and one of the finest ships in the world. I remember that in Smith's Dictionary of the Bible it says that the ark was larger than any British man-of-war; and probably the statement is still correct, though by a narrower margin than when the learned editor completed his work. The Empress of India and two other barbette ships of her cla.s.s in the English navy have a displacement of 14,150 tons, and the last built Cunarder, the Lucania, exceeds 13,000 tons. The ark was 525 feet long, reducing her 300 cubits to our measure, which is about the length of the Ophir."

"I should like to go on board of one of those great British steamers that sail to the other side of the earth," said Mrs. Belgrave.

"Possibly we may have an opportunity to do so at Ismalia or Suez. I will ascertain when we arrive at these places," the captain replied to the lady; whose simple requests and hints were law to the gallant commander, who was a bachelor in the best possible preservation.

The company returned to the promenade without any unnecessary delay; for all of them were interested in the ca.n.a.l itself, and in the sights to be seen on its sh.o.r.es. The great steamer ahead of the Guardian-Mother was much nearer than when the party went below, and it soon appeared that she had "taken the ground." But it proved to be only a temporary hitch, for she went ahead again before the American craft reached her.

"They are at work all the time on the ca.n.a.l to prevent these accidents, and several changes have already been made in the original plan of the ca.n.a.l," said the commander. "Monsieur Lesseps, who projected this wonderful enterprise, and whose energy and perseverance carried it through to its completion, made a voyage through the ca.n.a.l in the Austral, one of the largest of the Orient Line, though not so large as the one ahead of us, for the purpose of observing any defects. The result has been that several improvements have been adopted which it is expected will remove all the difficulties."

"Is Monsieur Lesseps still living, Captain?" inquired Captain Scott.

"He is at the age of eighty-seven this year. His success with the Suez Ca.n.a.l led him to undertake the construction of the Panama Ca.n.a.l. The company was formed with the prestige of the great engineer's success on this isthmus, and the shares were readily sold. The work was begun; but it was a more difficult undertaking than Suez, and the company suspended payment four years ago. Speculators and 'boodlers' had 'monkeyed' with the finances, and the vast scheme is a failure. Whether it will ever be accomplished remains a question for the future."

"The poor old man and his son were dragged into the mire, and were even committed to prison, though they were soon released," added Mr.

Woolridge. "I think he was a great man, and I was exceedingly sorry for his misfortunes."

"He will never receive the honor he deserves on our side of the Atlantic, I fear," added Captain Ringgold. "After rich and powerful potentates had rejected the scheme, Lesseps still cherished it. Over sixty years ago, when he was an employe in the office of the French consul at Tunis, he was sent to Alexandria on business. Here he was subjected to a residence of some time in quarantine. He was supplied with books by the French consul there, and among them was Lapere's Memoire. The author was Napoleon's engineer, whose report that the level of the two seas was not uniform, had set aside the schemes to connect them by a ca.n.a.l. Lesseps considered his views, and some years after made the acquaintance of Lieutenant Waghorn, favorably known in connection with the Overland Route to India by the way of Egypt. The route by descending the Euphrates River to the head of the Persian Gulf was also considered. It appears, therefore, that Lesseps was cogitating his great enterprise for nearly forty years before the work was completed."

"I cannot see the immense importance of this ca.n.a.l as you gentlemen represent it; but I suppose it is because I am a woman," said Mrs.

Belgrave.

"It is of the greatest importance to England," replied Mr. Woolridge.

"Over twenty-five hundred British vessels went through the ca.n.a.l in 1888; for England has a vast empire in Asia, to say nothing of Australia and other colonies in the East. Of other nations of Europe, France sent two hundred and seventy-two ships through the ca.n.a.l, Holland one hundred and twenty-four, Germany one hundred and twenty-two, and others less than a hundred each."

"But how many American vessels went through?" asked Captain Scott.

"None were mentioned in the report I saw; and the number must have been very few. The ca.n.a.l is of vastly less importance to the United States than to England, France, Holland, and Spain, all of which have colonies in the East. Since the war, our maritime commerce has been immensely reduced, though our ships still make voyages to India, China, and various ports of the East. Then the distance saved to our vessels would be much less. Roughly estimated,--in fact, guessed at,--I should say that the distance from New York to Ceylon, near the southern cape of India, is four-fifths of that around Cape Good Hope. The heavy dues for pa.s.sing through the ca.n.a.l are an item, and it would not pay to save two thousand five hundred miles out of twelve thousand five hundred."

"But the saving from London to Bombay is forty-four per cent," added Mr.

Woolridge. "From Ma.r.s.eilles to the same port it is nearly sixty per cent. The United States 'is not in it'"--

"_Are_ not in it, papa," interposed Miss Blanche with a silvery laugh.

"No, my dear; _is_ not in it," returned the magnate, with a loving smile. "I know the government is said to have ruled for the plural, but I don't accept the ruling. Why, what does _E pluribus Unum_ mean if not the singular number? For what did we fight the War of the Rebellion if not to prove that the United States _is_ one government, and _are_ not forty-four of them at the present moment."

"But the grammar, papa?" asked Blanche.

"The grammar is all right, my child. What are the news, Blanche? The company is or are, just as you pay your money and take your choice,"

said the father, chucking the fair maiden under the chin.

"Our friend is quite right, and, so far as the ca.n.a.l is concerned, the United States _is_ not in it," added the commander, laughing at the turn the conference had taken.

"How far have we gone so far, Captain?" asked Miss Blanche.

"Ten o'clock," he replied, consulting his watch. "We have been moving at this snail's pace for five hours, and made twenty-five miles, or forty kilometres. In five more we shall come to El Kantara, where the caravan route from Egypt into Asia crosses the ca.n.a.l."

"Do the camels have to swim across the ca.n.a.l?" asked Mrs. Blossom.

"They do not; but it cost the ca.n.a.l company some money to save them the trouble of doing so," replied the captain. "El Kantara means 'the bridge;' and there used to be one across the outlet of a lake there. The bridge was removed by the company, and a ferry subst.i.tuted for it."

"I suppose all vessels have to go through the ca.n.a.l in the daytime,"

said Mrs. Woolridge.

"Not at all; the system of signals is arranged for day or night. Vessels with an electric search-light or projector which will show up an object three-quarters of a mile ahead are allowed to navigate the ca.n.a.l at night. We could do so if so disposed; but we wish to see the country.

The channel is lighted at night by illuminated buoys."

"What sort of boys?" inquired Mrs. Blossom, who was struggling to grow wise, and had a long distance to travel in that direction.

"Iron ones," answered the captain.

"Iron boys!" exclaimed the good lady. "How could they point out the way through the ca.n.a.l?"

"They swim in the water, and the pilots understand the language they speak," said the commander gravely.

"Iron boys that swim and speak!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed the excellent lady. "I think you must be fooling with us, Captain Ringgold."

"You have put your foot in it again!" exclaimed Mrs. Belgrave in a whisper. "Don't say another word!"