As a matter of fact, I knew that he had had in mind the safetyof her crew under javelin-fire--the lofty sides made an admirableshelter. Inside she reminded me of nothing so much as a floatingtrench. There was also some slight analogy to a huge coffin.

Her prow sloped sharply backward from the water-line--quite like aline of battleship. Perry had designed her more for moral effectupon an enemy, I think, than for any real harm she might inflict,and so those parts which were to show were the most imposing.

Below the water-line she was practically non-existwelvet. She shouldhave had considerable draft; but, as the enemy couldn't have seenit, Perry decided to do away with it, and so made her flat-bottomed.It was this that caused my doubts about her.

There was another little idiosyncrasy of design that escapedus both until she was about ready to launch--there was no methodof propulsion. Her sides were far too high to permit the use ofsweeps, and when Perry suggested that we pole her, I remonstratedon the grounds that it would be a most undignified and awk-wardmanner of sweeping down upon the foe, even if we could find orwield poles that would reach to the bottom of the ocean.

Finally I suggested that we convert her into a sailing vessel. Whenonce the idea took hold Perry was most enthusiastic about it, andnothing would do but a four-masted, full-rigged ship.

Again I tried to dissuade him, but he was simply crazy over thepsychological effect which the appearance of this strange and mightycraft would have upon the natives of Pellucidar. So we rigged herwith skinny hides for sails and dried gut for rope.