CHAPTER XIV.
THE GEOGRAPHICAL VALUE OF x.
Fortunately for J. T. Maston, the Federal Government unexpectedly received the following telegram:—
“To John S. Wright, Washington, U.S.A.
“Zanzibar, 13th September, 5 a.m., local time. Great foundries have been established among the Wamasai to the south of Kilimanjaro. For eight months Impey Barbicane and Nicholl have been there, with hundreds of black workmen under the authority of the Sultan Bali-Bali. Information for Government purposes.—Richard W. Trust, U.S. Consul.”
And that is how the great secret was discovered. And that is why the secretary of the Gun Club was not hanged.
But who can say that he did not live to regret that he was not removed from mankind in all the plenitude of his glory?
Anyhow the fact of the discovery is so important in our history that we shall only be treating it with due respect in giving it this chapter to itself.
CHAPTER XV.
INTERESTING FOR THE INHABITANTS OF THE TERRESTRIAL SPHEROID.
And so the Washington Government knew where Barbicane & Co. had commenced business. There could be no doubt as to the authenticity of the telegram. The Consul of Zanzibar was too cautious a man for his information to be doubted, and it was confirmed by subsequent telegrams. The gigantic works of the North Polar Practical Association were in full swing in the centre of the Kilimanjaro region, about three hundred miles from the East Coast of Africa, a little below the equinoctial line.
How had they come to be installed so secretly in this lost country, at the foot of the famous mountain discovered in 1848 by Krapf and Rebmann? How had Barbicane & Co. been able to build their foundries and collect their staff? By what means had they managed to enter into peaceful relations with the savage tribes of the district, and their cruel and grasping chiefs? Nobody knew. And as there were only a few days to run before the 22nd, it was not unlikely that nobody would know.