A chill breeze swept across the river. It delighted in the small ripples that it created on the water’s surface, and in the rustling that it caused in the highest branches of the trees. It brushed across a sleepy fishing town, and the lantern flickered in the town square.
It saw a lonely light down by the harbor and so, ever curious, it came to look. As it drew close, it saw a wiry man working by lantern-light on the deck of a small ship. The breeze swirled around him once. For a brief moment, it tried to understand what he was doing. Then, it saw a falling leaf and went off to play with it, leaving the dock and the village far behind. Breezes are easily distracted.
Elias dropped his wrench as he was making the last connection. He’d been startled by a cold wind. He watched as the wrench slid down beneath the boiler, where it settled comfortably into the middle of a puddle of dirty bilge-water. He bent down and began to feel for it, adding another layer of grime to his gloves. He swore softly; he could barely see in the dim lantern-light. He should’ve gone to bed hours ago, but he was so close!
Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed a flicker of motion. With precise aim, Dimitri landed on the far side of the puddle, then leapt again across its width. As he moved, he twirled his body and deftly plucked the wrench from the depths of the pool, landing on the near side without a drop of water on his fur. Looking smug, he dropped it at Elias’s feet. Then he leaped again and resumed his perch atop the lantern-pole. This time, his aim was less precise and he nearly fell, but Elias pretended not to see. Dimitri looked down and kept watch as Elias once again grasped the final linkage and tightened it down.
“That’s it! It’s done! Start it up!”, Elias shouted. Dimitri vaulted backwards, landed by the regulator, and turned the valve. Pipes hissed. Steam began to flow. Down it rushed from the boiler, and then up it ran into the enormous pistons! Dimitri jumped around the ship’s machinery twirling small knobs. Over their heads, the massive rocking arms shifted and tensed.
Elias busied himself with the docking lines. Dimitri oiled a troublesome sticky spot and then leaped back to the pilot’s seat. They were ready.
Dimitri pressed the lever to engage the pistons. Elias shouted and Dimitri chittered as the rocking beams swung into motion. The entire ship rumbled. The wood of the massive paddle-wheels groaned. Thick clouds billowed from the smoke-stack. Slowly, the paddles began to turn.
Dimitri pushed the tiller to the side; the tiny ship began to move away from the dock.
They had done it. It was working. No one was rowing, no sails were raised, and yet they moved!
No-one else had ever made a practical steam-ship. Anderssen, the famous Barheimer machinist, was said to have come close, but his engine had been far too heavy to place aboard a vessel. No-one had ever succeeded, until Elias and Dimitri. Their theories had worked.
Dimitri opened the regulator wide and they began to pick up speed, steering directly into the breeze. Elias dropped a knotted rope over the side and turned over a small hourglass. When the hourglass ran out, he pulled the rope up and shouted “TEN KNOTS!”. He knew that no faster upwind speed had ever been recorded.
Hours later, they pulled back to the dock. Started by the noise, a small group of townsfolk were waiting. “We thought there was a monster coming out of the water!”, said one of the elders. Elias laughed, and Dimitri chittered sharply. “We did it!” shouted Elias. For the two inventors, it was the most glorious day of their lives.
Dimitri was exhausted and fell asleep right on the dock. Elias was tired too, but he was too excited to sleep. The movement of the main axle had been a bit loose after the engine had warmed. He was sure that if he just tweaked it, it’d be better on the next run...
