"Then I will say that the canal is run on the 'block system,' except on the lakes, where the ships can go at full speed," added the commander.
"Where are the blocks? I don't see any," said Mrs. Blossom.
"I don't know what is meant by the block system," added Mrs. Belgrave.
"The railroads in England and the United States, or many of them, are run by this method. The whole length of the road, or canal in this case, is divided into short sections. On the railroad no train is permitted to enter a section till all other trains are out of it, and a collision is therefore impossible. The system is controlled by telegraph, by which signals are ordered at either end of the division. On the canal the director at Port Tewfik controls the movements of every ship on its passage either way. These posts mark the sections. You will learn more of it when we get to the other end of the canal."
The breakfast gong sounded at this time, and the party were not so eager for knowledge as to pass over the morning meal.
The tourists had been up long enough to be in excellent condition for breakfast; and the Asiatic breezes from the south-east were cool and refreshing, for they came from the mountains of the peninsula of Sinai, where Moses had received the law from Heaven. There was something inspiring in this thought to the minds of the more religious members of the party when the commander announced the proximity of the sacred mountain after he had asked the blessing.
"How far is Mount Sinai from where we are now?" asked Mrs. Woolridge.
"I cannot tell you just how far it is at this moment, for my charts are in my cabin," replied Captain Ringgold. "We are not so near it as we shall be later; but you will all see it after we get into the Red Sea. We will defer the subject till that time; and I should not have mentioned it if the south-east wind had not suggested it."
"I got a glance at an enormously big steamer ahead of us just as we were leaving the promenade," added Mr. Woolridge. "She looked as large as Noah's Ark, and appeared as though she was sailing over the land."
"Perhaps she was quite as large; for the pilot tells me that the Ophir is just ahead of us," added the commander.
"What is the Ophir?" asked Mrs. Belgrave.