Page:Robert William Cole - The Struggle for Empire; A Story of the Year 2236 (1900).djvu/81

Rh 'Speed ninety!' shouted a man who was standing by a telephone apparatus.

A bell rang at the further end, and an engineer came hurrying along.

'Turn on more energy,' shouted another man. 'The speed is not fast enough.'

'Speed ninety-five, a hundred, a hundred and four,' shouted the man at the telephone.

An engineer pulled over a lever, and there was a roar and a hiss from down below.

'That is the Ednogen, which has just been turned on,' said an engineer as he hurried past Alec, who paused to gaze for a minute at the palpitating machinery. 'We are going like lightning now. A pretty sight, isn't it?'

'Speed a hundred and forty,' shouted the first man again. 'Turn on number six.'

Another man pulled over a lever, and a great wheel that had hitherto been motionless began to spin round, while flashes of fire darted among the moving rods.