At last I got off, and we rowed round
to Fort Genois, where my men had put up a capital gipsy tent with
sails, and there was my big board and Thomson's number 5 in great
glory. I soon came to the conclusion there was a break. Two of my
faithful Cagliaritans slept all night in the little tent, to guard
it and my precious instruments; and the sea, which was rather
rough, silenced my Frenchmen.
'Next day I went on with my experiments, whilst a boat grappled for
the cable a little way from shore and buoyed it where the ELBA
could get hold. I brought all back to the ELBA, tried my machinery
and was all ready for a start next morning. But the wretched coal
had not come yet; Government permission from Algiers to be got;
lighters, men, baskets, and I know not what forms to be got or got
through - and everybody asleep! Coals or no coals, I was
determined to start next morning; and start we did at four in the
morning, picked up the buoy with our deck engine, popped the cable
across a boat, tested the wires to make sure the fault was not
behind us, and started picking up at 11.
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