{"product_id":"2940013773721","title":"The Invisible Force","description":"IT seemed as if London had solved one of her great problems at last.\u003cbr\u003eThe communication difficulty was at an end. The first-class ticket-\u003cbr\u003eholders no longer struggled to and from business with fourteen fellow-\u003cbr\u003esufferers in a third-class carriage. There were no longer any\u003cbr\u003eparticularly favoured suburbs, nor were there isolated localities\u003cbr\u003ewhere it took as long getting to the City as an express train takes\u003cbr\u003ebetween London and Swindon. The pleasing paradox of a man living at\u003cbr\u003eBrighton because it was nearer to his business than Surbiton had\u003cbr\u003eceased to exist. The tubes had done away with all that.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThere were at least a dozen hollow cases running under London in all\u003cbr\u003edirections. They were cool and well ventilated, the carriages were\u003cbr\u003ebrilliantly lighted, the various loops were properly equipped and\u003cbr\u003emanaged.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAll day long the shining funnels and bright platforms were filled with\u003cbr\u003epassengers. Towards midnight the traffic grew less, and by half-past\u003cbr\u003eone o'clock the last train had departed. The all-night service was not\u003cbr\u003eyet.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt was perfectly quiet now along the gleaming core that lay buried\u003cbr\u003eunder Bond Street and St. James's Street, forming the loop running\u003cbr\u003ebelow the Thames close by Westminster Bridge Road and thence to the\u003cbr\u003ecrowded Newington and Walworth districts. Here a portion of the roof\u003cbr\u003ewas under repair.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe core was brilliantly lighted; there was no suggestion of fog or\u003cbr\u003egloom. The general use of electricity had disposed of a good deal of\u003cbr\u003eLondon's murkiness; electric motors were applied now to most\u003cbr\u003emanufactories and workshops. There was just as much gas consumed as\u003cbr\u003eever, but it was principally used for heating and culinary purposes.\u003cbr\u003eElectric radiators and cookers had not yet reached the multitude; that\u003cbr\u003ewas a matter of time.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the flare of the blue arc lights a dozen men were working on the\u003cbr\u003edome of the core. Something had gone wrong with a water-main overhead,\u003cbr\u003ethe concrete beyond the steel belt had cracked, and the moisture had\u003cbr\u003ecorroded the steel plates, so that a long strip of the metal skin had\u003cbr\u003ebeen peeled away, and the friable concrete had fallen on the rails. It\u003cbr\u003ehad brought part of the crown with it, so that a maze of large and\u003cbr\u003esmall pipes was exposed to view.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"They look like the reeds of an organ,\" a raw engineer's apprentice\u003cbr\u003eremarked to the foreman. \"What are they?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Gas mains, water, electric light, telephone, goodness knows what,\"\u003cbr\u003ethe foreman replied. \"They branch off here, you see.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Fun to cut them,\" the apprentice grinned. The foreman nodded\u003cbr\u003eabsently. He had once been a mischievous boy, too. The job before him\u003cbr\u003elooked a bigger thing than he had expected. It would have to be\u003cbr\u003epatched up till a strong gang could be turned on to the work. The raw\u003cbr\u003eapprentice was still gazing at the knot of pipes. What fun it would be\u003cbr\u003eto cut that water-main and flood the tunnels!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn an hour the scaffolding was done and the debris cleared away. To-\u003cbr\u003emorrow night a gang of men would come and make the concrete good and\u003cbr\u003erestore the steel rim to the dome. The tube was deserted. It looked\u003cbr\u003elike a polished, hollow needle, lighted here and there by points of\u003cbr\u003edazzling light.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt was so quiet and deserted that the falling of a big stone\u003cbr\u003ereverberated along the tube with a hollow sound. There was a crack,\u003cbr\u003eand a section of piping gave way slightly and pressed down upon one of\u003cbr\u003ethe electric mains. A tangled skein of telephone wires followed. Under\u003cbr\u003ethe strain the electric cable parted and snapped. There was a long,\u003cbr\u003esliding, blue flame, and instantly the tube was in darkness. A short\u003cbr\u003ecircuit had been established somewhere. Not that it mattered, for\u003cbr\u003etraffic was absolutely suspended now, and would not be resumed again\u003cbr\u003ebefore daylight. Of course, there were the workmen's very early\u003cbr\u003etrains, and the Covent Garden market trains, but they did not run over\u003cbr\u003ethis section of the line. The whole darkness reeked with the whiff of\u003cbr\u003eburning indiarubber. The moments passed on drowsily.","brand":"WDS Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47083312316656,"sku":"2940013773721","price":2.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013773721_p0.jpg?v=1763598955","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013773721","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}