Page:Clement Fezandié - Through the Earth.djvu/79

Rh not only for the use of the workmen, but also for the transportation of visitors, thousands of whom flocked to see the new volcano.

As for Dr. Giles himself, he seldom left his office, except for the purpose of ascending into the observatory to watch the eruption, endeavoring to discern whether or not there were any indications of a diminution in the volcanic flow.

His constant supervision was necessary for the important task of securing a free outlet for the electricity produced in the tube; for if, through any inadvertence, this electrical energy was not disposed of as fast as it was created, it would do one of two things: it would either find a vent for itself, at the risk of causing considerable damage, or, if pent up, it would check the further conversion of heat into electricity, and the carbonite tube would then melt at once under the influence of the excessive heat.

Fortunately, as we have said, there was a ready market in Australia for more electricity than the doctor could produce; so that, although his supply was now many times greater than it had been before the eruption,—the whole interior surface of the tube being at present engaged in the work of transforming heat into electrical energy,—the