The Mountain King Paula Quinn download

https://ebookbell.com/product/the-mountain-king-paula-
quinn-57139594

Explore and download more ebooks at ebookbell.com

Here are some recommended products that we believe you will be
interested in. You can click the link to download.

The Mountain King Anders De La Motte

https://ebookbell.com/product/the-mountain-king-anders-de-la-
motte-55184042

The Mountain King A Novel Anders De La Motte

https://ebookbell.com/product/the-mountain-king-a-novel-anders-de-la-
motte-55600770

1 The Mountain King Asker Anders De La Motte

https://ebookbell.com/product/1-the-mountain-king-asker-anders-de-la-
motte-55254572

The Hall Of The Mountain King Judith Tarr

https://ebookbell.com/product/the-hall-of-the-mountain-king-judith-
tarr-34188002
The Mermaid Daughters Of The Mountain Lake Kingdom S Mccoy

https://ebookbell.com/product/the-mermaid-daughters-of-the-mountain-
lake-kingdom-s-mccoy-38549826

Journey To The Dragon Mountain Bamboo Kingdom 3 1st Erin Hunter

https://ebookbell.com/product/journey-to-the-dragon-mountain-bamboo-
kingdom-3-1st-erin-hunter-48468150

King Of The Mountain The Nature Of Political Leadership First Edition

Arnold M Ludwig

https://ebookbell.com/product/king-of-the-mountain-the-nature-of-
political-leadership-first-edition-arnold-m-ludwig-2017166

King Of The Mountain A Litrpg Adventure David J Vanbergen Jr

https://ebookbell.com/product/king-of-the-mountain-a-litrpg-adventure-
david-j-vanbergen-jr-54239056

Power On The Hudson Storm King Mountain And The Emergence Of Modern
American Environmentalism 1st Edition Robert D Lifset

https://ebookbell.com/product/power-on-the-hudson-storm-king-mountain-
and-the-emergence-of-modern-american-environmentalism-1st-edition-
robert-d-lifset-51332658
THE MOUNTAIN KING
THREE KING SERIES
BOOK TWO

PAULA QUINN
Copyright © 2024 by Paula Quinn
All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written
permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Created with Vellum
 PRAISE FOR PAUL A Q UINN

New York Times bestselling author, Paula Quinn to date, has had four of her books garnered Starred reviews from
Publishers Weekly

She has been nominated as Historical Storyteller of the Year by RT Book Reviews, and all the books in her MacGregor and
Children of the Mist series have received Top Picks from RT Book Reviews

Her work has also been honored as Amazon's Best of the Year in Romance

In 2008 she won the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence for Historical Romance

Her faerie series has been nominated for the 2017 Rone Award and has won the Sceal Award of Excellence from Books
and Benches, as well as taking 2nd place for the 2016 Best Series award from the Paranormal Romance Guild

To date, two of her dragon-shifter romances have garnered Crowned Heart reviews from Ind'tale Magazine

Top Picks from Night Owl Reviews and The Romance Reviews

What people are saying ....

"Rich, evocative historical detail and enthralling characters fill the pages of this fast-paced tale."
--Publishers Weekly, starred review, on Conquered by a Highlander

"What could be better than being wrapped up in a cozy plaid in front of a fire? Reading Paula Quinn's historical romance
featuring wounded but hunky Highlander Cailean Grant, that's what."―Omnivoracious, The Amazon Book Review on A
Highlander's Christmas Kiss

"4 stars! Quinn and her Highlanders are a perfect match, and Malcolm Grant is the ideal Scotsman for a tale that's
humorous, poignant and highly romantic. Quinn understands and motivates her characters carefully. She delves into their
deepest thoughts and makes readers truly care about their lives."―RT Book Reviews on The Taming of Malcolm Grant

"4 1/2 stars! With its quick-moving plot, engaging characters and historic backdrop, the latest installment of The
MacGregors: Highland Heirs is a page-turner. Quinn twists and turns the tale, drawing readers in and holding them with
her unforgettable characters' love story."―RT Book Reviews on The Scandalous Secret of Abigail MacGregor

"4 1/2 stars! Top Pick! The final book in Quinn's Children of the Mist series is Scottish romance at its best: captivating,
tender and sensual with characters readers care about." --RT Book Reviews on Conquered by a Highlander
 CONTE NTS

Author’s Note
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Epilogue
Scripture reference
About the Author
 AUTHOR’S NOTE

Author Note:
Dear Readers, besides being a Christian romance, The Mountain King is a fantasy/sci/fi story. There’s no set date, for all
the kingdoms in the world of Alcaria exist in another time and place. I hope you will suspend belief with me and enjoy the
adventure.
Pronunciation:
Elywa —El eh wah
Jair –Jay ear
Joah Makai–Jo ah Mak eye
Levi –Lee vi
 PROLOGUE

Edarri Palace
Kingdom of Elan

P rince Jair Serenth, fourth in line to the throne of Elan, came awake in his bed. The hearthfire had gone out. His head
servant, Lillil had stopped leaving candles lit in his sleeping quarters three months ago when Jair turned seven. His
father had said it was time to start acting like a man and not be afraid of the shadows. The only light in the room came
from the full moon softly illuminating his bed through his window.
He rubbed his eyes as they grew accustomed to the light. Shadows
danced all around him. Despite what his father had said, he was afraid of them.
“Who’s there?” he called out softly.
He swallowed, doing his best not to call out louder and reveal his fear of
the dark.
What had awakened him and set his heart beating so frantically? “Hello?” he called out a little louder.
A scream pierced the silence and turned Jair’s blood cold. The heart wrenching sound was followed by another from
someplace else in the castle, and then the wail of a woman. A nurse? Men began shouting commands.
“Report! Report!” Jair heard his father’s guardsmen yelling.
“Two in the west wing!”
Jair didn’t know if he should get out of bed and hide, or run, or…he looked into the shadows. Was someone there?
“Hello?”
He whimpered. Who had screamed? What was happening? Where was his father, or Captain Pairi?
Another scream from the east wing. Not too far from him! Were the womens’ cries coming from his brothers’ nurses? Was
one of them his step-mother? It was followed by the heart twisting cry of a child. His older brother Toria! It was a harrowing
sound that reached Jair’s young ears and wedged a place deep within him.
Jair covered his ears with his palms. “Father?” he called out boldly. He scampered from the bed and hurried just out of the
light.
Men were running, their boots clicking on the floor. Commands were being shouted. More people were filling the air with
their screaming and wailing his brothers’ names.
“Bialla!”
“Diagan! No!”
“Toria! Oh, Toria!
His brothers! No! Jair covered his ears and squeezed his eyes shut. He was fourth. He would be next.
The children were being murdered. He had heard Captain Pairi warning his father of it happening. The heirs to the throne
had many enemies. Sooner or later an attempt would occur. It was sooner.
He had also heard enough conversations to know who was the boys’ greatest enemy.
His gaze shot across the room where he knew his small sword was. Should he go get it? Could he use it to truly kill another
person? Where was his father? Why hadn’t the king taken his captain’s advice and done something to prevent this and keep his
sons safer?
He felt his eyes burn with tears.
I will keep you safe, Jair.
He blinked the tears away. Who was that?
 The chamber door burst open.
His heart thrashed against his ribs. No! He wasn’t about to die without a fight! He was ready to make a run for his sword
when a hand reached down and took him by the collar of his nightshirt.
“Come, Your Highness! There isn’t time!”
It was Captain Pairi! Jair didn’t know whether to cheer or weep like an infant. “Are my brothers…? Where is my father?”
“There’s no time for that, my lord. We must go!” The captain dragged Jair toward the window.
What? No! They couldn’t–it was too high up! “No! I will not jump–”
In the next instant, he was wrapped up in the robes of the captain’s uniform and falling from the window.
Time seemed to slow down while they were falling. Jair looked up into the captain’s slate gray eyes and in that moment of
his life, understood what it felt like to believe death was imminent. “I don’t want to die.”
“We aren’t going to die.”
They crashed into a nest of branches from a stand of red maple trees beneath Jair’s window. Branches cracked and scraped
across Jair’s face and arms that were tightly coiled around the captain’s neck. But despite a few cuts and scrapes, the trees
broke their fall and kept them from breaking their necks. The captain had kept his word. They weren’t dead.
“You didn’t scream.” Captain Pairi’s voice was warm through Jair’s dark hair while the prince looked down at the tangle
of branches where they landed, and the ground about five feet below.
Jair’s eyes felt as if they might fall out from shock and fear when the captain held up his sword with the hand that wasn’t
clutching him to his chest and began chopping at the branches below them, at the nest that had saved them.
They fell free, with the captain landing like a cat on his feet and Jair still in his arms.
“Are you hurt, my lord?”
Jair finally breathed. “The outside of me is unharmed,” he said, unclamping his arms from around the captain’s neck. He
rubbed his palms over his arms, and chest. “But I can’t speak for the inside. What–”
His words were whisked away with him when Captain Pairi carried him away from the trees toward the Torenka River.
Where was he taking him?
Jair strained to look over his shoulder to see his home. “My brothers.”
“Nothing can be done for them, my lord. I will pray that my God comforts you and gives you strength to fulfill your
destiny.”
Jair didn’t want to think of his destiny. As the king’s now only living heir, he would someday be the king of Elan.That is, if
he lived.
His head became dizzy and he slumped over backward. He was grateful that the captain became aware of his weakened
condition immediately and held him a little tighter while they ran.
“If you pass out I can’t promise that I won’t eat you if I get hungry enough.”
Jair’s eyes opened wide. “Then I will stay awake and stab you in the eye if you show your teeth.”
The captain threw back his head and laughed with genuine amusement as he ran. “You make threats with pale skin and a
quaking heart.” He looked at Jair a little more closely. “Are you ill?”
Yes, Jair felt ill over losing his brothers, over almost being murdered in his bed along with them. But even more was that
Jair knew the weight on his father’s shoulders was immense. An entire country depended on the king. Jair would have to have
guards everywhere he went. He would never be free. He would be forced to marry someone his father believed was most
beneficial to the throne. Have sons with his wife, the way Jair’s mother had, while the woman he truly loved waited in the
shadows for his wife to die.
No! King Teleh’s second wife, Queen Maya was not responsible for killing his brothers. No. His father would never have
allowed it.
“Was my half-brother, Tarrant killed?”
The captain was quiet for a moment. Then, “He was alive and being brought to safety when I went to your room.”
Jair’s lips trembled. He fought not to faint, not to cry. “She…I…”
An arrow landed close by in the trunk of a tree. The captain ran faster.
“Is it them?” Jair asked in a hollow whisper. “Is it them?”
“Yes,” the captain told him and came to a stop. “Stay down.”
Peeking out from behind a thick tree trunk where the captain set him down, Jair watched seven Assassins reach the captain
and surround him.
Even in the moonlight, Jair almost couldn’t see them, not because of their dark clothes, but because they moved like moths,
fluttering in and out of shadows.
Jair blinked and three of the ethereal figures were down. The captain hadn’t unsheathed his blade. Or had he?
Two of the Assassins must have seen Jair, for they leaped forward, swords drawn and ready to kill him. The captain’s swift
arms stopped them. First, he unarmed them by taking hold of their hands in each of his and twisting them in an unnatural
position until the Assassins cried out and dropped their weapons. Then the captain elbowed one in the nose, and kicked him in
the shin, breaking his bone. The assailant went down. The captain was already doing the same to the next man…and Jair hadn’t
even taken a second breath.
The last two gave it a valiant effort but went down after the captain cracked their kneecaps.
“Stay close to me,” Captain Pairi commanded when he returned to Jair. He pulled him closer, clasped his collar, and
continued running, lifting Jair’s feet off the ground.
“I can’t!” Jair cried out and yanked himself free. He swiped the tears away from his eyes and stared at the captain. “Why
did you save me? I would have preferred to die with my brothers.”
“That’s noble of you,” the captain replied, moving quickly for him. When he reached him, he picked Jair up in his arms.
“But it doesn’t matter anymore what you prefer. Go ahead and cry if you feel the desire to do so. Have a good one. I do it
myself at times.”
“A prince shouldn’t cry.”
“Says who?”
“My father, the king!”
The captain was silent while he ran. He could barely breathe by the time they reached the docks and the fishermens’ boats
along the shoreline.
“Where are we going?”
The captain turned to look behind them while he caught his breath. “Far away.”
“But the kingdom!” the little prince protested.
“My lord,” his rescuer set him down on his feet and bent to look him in the eye. “You must forget the kingdom. Do you
understand? At least until the Lord wishes to send you back to Elan and restore you to your rightful place. While you wait, you
are no longer a Prince of Elan.”
“What am I then?” Jair asked him, wide-eyed.
“You’re a regular boy.” He placed his big hand on Jair’s shoulder. “It’ll be alright. It will always be alright. Remember
that and be grateful for everyday the good Lord gives you. Now come, we must leave.”
He took hold of Jair’s hand and turned for one of the boats.
A man stood in their path. His gaze was locked on Jair, his eyes wide. He’d heard them. He looked even older than the
captain, forty years maybe. He wasn’t dressed in blacks and grays like the Assassins. He wore loose tan pants tucked into his
water boots and a dingy shirt beneath his long, thin coat. He smelled of fish and the sea.
He held up his hands in terror when the captain raised his sword. Jair covered the captain’s hand that was holding him.
This man wasn’t a killer. He’d done nothing to them. Jair wouldn’t let Captain Pairi kill him.
The captain looked down at him for an instant to see the prince shake his head. He took another, clearer look at the man
cowering before him and lowered his weapon.
The fisherman glanced down at Jair and gave him a thankful smile. “Come this way.”
They followed him onto an empty fishing boat. “The other fishermen will be arriving soon. Stay back there.” He pointed
behind several barrels of something that smelled foul, and made the three-hour-long trip across the Rivers Torenka and Lanris
to the shores of Vendica unbearable and unforgettable. When they finally anchored at the docks of Vendica, the captain thanked
the fisherman who’d helped him, and then warned him to forget them and never mention them to anyone.
“If I find out that you told anyone, I will find you and kill you. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Sir.”
As the captain pulled Jair away, the prince turned to look over his shoulder.
The fisherman saw him, smiled, and bowed low.
Their journey wasn’t any better once they were back on land. Vendica was cold and the captain was leading them toward
the snow-capped mountains in the north.
Jair didn’t have a coat with him.
“I’m not going to use any titles with you anymore.”
Jair wanted to breathe normally again. The thought of not being royal with enemies everywhere, was appealing.
“What will you call me, then?”
“You will be called Joah from this moment on.”
The prince stopped and tugged on the captain’s sleeve. “You…You mean I won’t even be Jair anymore?”
When his teeth chattered, the captain picked him up and stared into his dark eyes. “You will be Joah Makai and you will
live. Understand?”
The prince could barely see him through the tears about to fall from his eyes. “Who is Joah Makai?”
“Just a regular boy. Remember?” the captain told him, sounding unsure if giving him a different identity was the right thing
to do. How was Jair to know if the captain didn’t?
Just a regular boy. How many times had he thought about not being royal, of having friends and being allowed to play? But
not like this. His family was dead. His brothers, killed by…Assassins.
 This wasn’t the time to let his heart break. If he was going to start living as a regular boy, their lie had to be without fault.
“Won’t people know who I am when they find out that you’re Captain Edder Piari? The king’s most dangerous warrior?”
The captain stared at him, his unblinking gaze would have unsettled another boy, but Jair didn’t think he would ever be the
same again after tonight.
“You’re thoughtful for a boy of seven. I hear you're the best in all your classes.”
“It’s only a matter of thinking,” Jair said softly, like a boy hesitant to speak too much, and an arrogant prince in training to
be king, “You risked your life for me tonight, Captain. Shouldn’t I make certain I live?”
The captain narrowed his flinty eyes on him, and then smiled ever so slightly. “Yes, of course. Of course you should live.
No one will know who I am. I’ll be changing my name as well. I am Ezra Makai, and you are my son.”
“What?” Jair let his mouth fall open. “No! I can’t do that. It’s treason. My father is the king!”
The captain’s smile faded and his eyes grew darker, like the sky just before a storm. His bearded jaw was tightly clenched
when he spoke. “Joah, do not doubt that you’ll die if anyone discovers who you are. They’re not going to stop searching for a
while. That’s why we have to go so far. But if you would rather go back and continue being Prince Jair of Elan–”
“No! I just…” Jair hated himself for the tears streaming down his cheeks. What did he want to say? He didn’t know. In one
night he lost his entire family, his country, his identity.
He looked forward, at the road they were traveling and let the wind snatch his tears away.
“It’s all right. Everything will be alright,” the captain promised, wrapping him tighter in his robes. “I won’t leave your
side. I’ll teach you about God and about defending yourself until you’re better than I am. Trust me, Joah.”
 C HAPTER 1

Seventeen years later

The Four Fingers Tavern
East Tragarr

E lywa Tajyar waited in the dimly lit tavern for her contact to arrive. He’d sent her a message three days ago, informing
her that he had a mission for her. A very important one.
It was what she’d been waiting for most of her life. An important mission that would elevate her name and status and
strike fear into others. She wanted enough money to find her brother, keep him safe, buy her friends, and do away with her
enemies.
Her contact was twenty minutes late. She sighed and looked over at another table on the other side of the room. The
younger male patron smiled at her, then swung his blue-green gaze up to the man coming to stand above her.
“Sorry I’m late.”
Tamark Olan, her contact, leader of the Sicarius Guild, slipped into the chair next to her. He’d been her teacher for the last
eleven years, since she was eight. He was likely in his fifties by now, but she’d never asked his age. His tanned skin was more
weathered than it had been when she first met him. His eyes were still vivid green and clear, his mind, just as quick.
She’d been in love with him once, or she’d believed in her child’s mind the first year after he purchased her from one of the
Catchers who’d attacked and killed her mother and father. She never discovered what happened to her four-year-old brother,
Zan but Tamark taught her how to fight and kill and sent her on her first mission when she was nine. He also taught her how to
disguise her true emotions lest she become vulnerable to the enemy.
She’d looked up to him and strove to emulate his detached, unfazed demeanor. She didn’t always succeed. But when it
came to Tamark, she did–for six long years. When she turned fourteen, she confessed her love to him in a whirlwind of words
and tears. He had handled it like a pro. With a warm smile, he let her down gently. She got over him, for the most part, but now,
with five more years between them, her heart still picked up its pace a bit when she spoke to him.
“How are you, El?” He held up his hand and ordered a drink. His peppered hair was secured behind his head.
“I’m still me,” she answered when he returned his attention to her.
“Still deadly,” he chuckled. “If her beauty doesn’t slay you, her blade will.”
“What are you doing in East Tragarr?”she asked, sparing him the softest hint of a smile. His words were pretty. Pretty and
empty. They meant nothing.
“You’re lucky here is where I am.”
As usual, Tamark didn’t answer what he didn’t want to answer. She’d grown tired of his elusive behavior toward her.
“What’s the mission, Tamark?”
“It’s huge, El.”
No mission was small. Killing someone was never a trivial matter, whether a serf or a noble.
Tamark was about to tell her but paused and eyed the stranger coming toward them.
“I like your woman, old man,” the oaf sneered. Elywa rolled her dark golden eyes heavenward. “Get out of your seat or die
in it.”
Tamark produced a dagger and flung it at him. It landed between the oaf’s feet.
“I have another,” Tarmark snarled. “Next time, I’ll aim higher.”
The threat proved effective and the tavern oaf ran off.
Elywa’s gaze brushed over the young man still sitting at the table across the tavern. Zan? Was he her brother? He called
himself Levi. Just Levi. He worshiped a god called Yahweh and prayed to him everyday. She’d met him two weeks ago while
he was being dragged down Mt. Travene by a group of Catchers. Where had his god been then?
Fools thought to snatch her and add her to their slaves. Never again. Killing them was easy and took her less time than
she’d anticipated. Worthless scum.
After ridding East Tragarr of six more life-destroyers, she’d released their captives. Levi being one of them. When he told
her he’d been raised an orphan, the thought that he could be Zan crossed her mind. He had the same color eyes Zan had. He was
about the same age Zan would be, about fifteen or so. He denied being her brother and tried to backtrack on his story saying
he’d run away from home and had been living in a monastery in the mountains when the Catchers came and captured him. Fine,
if he wasn’t her brother, she didn’t want to have anything more to do with him. But he wouldn’t go away.
“El,” Tamark pulled her attention back. “What do you know about the Massacre of the Princes of Elan seventeen years
ago?”
She thought about it then sipped her drink. “Not much. You know I haven’t gone back to the east in years. All I know is that
four of King Teleh’s sons had been killed by Assassins.”
He nodded. “But only the sons born of the late Queen Delilah had been targeted. The son of the queen regent still lives.”
“Prince Tarrant. Right, I know that,” she told him. “Was it Queen Maya who’d ordered her stepsons’ deaths?”
“You know I can’t divulge that.”
She shrugged and sipped her drink. “Please continue then. I’m curious about the mission.”
His lips curled into a one-sided smile. “Do you know that King Teleh and Queen Delilah’s son Prince Jair was never
accounted for that night and no one has seen or heard of him since. The captain of the king’s fourth division went missing as
well.”
Prince Jair? Which one was he? Her heart raced. Was this lost prince found? Was he her next target? “Has he turned up?”
“No. Still, a certain party who is willing to pay a fortune believes he will.”
So Prince Jair was her next target. “Why?” she asked. “Why now?”
“We weren’t told why, but I suspect it’s due to King Teleh falling ill and being near death. He plans on naming Prince
Tarrant, the queen regent’s son as the crown prince. Our customer doesn’t want any complications like a long, lost prince
showing up.”
Elywa laughed but the sound was void of any humor. “Are you telling me I have to find him first? Do you know what that
entails? I have to find him with absolutely no leads, then I have to confirm somehow that it’s him? It’s impossible. No one
knows anything about him.”
Tamark covered her hand with his but she moved it away.
“We know his name is Prince Jair and he will likely be traveling with Captain Pairi.”
“Or,” she corrected with a look of disgust. “He changed his name to keep safe all these years and his captain is dead and he
travels alone. You are giving me nothing to go on.”
“It’s all I’ve got, El. Do you want the mission or not? It’s worth fifty thousand terrifs.”
Fifty thousand. This was what she had been waiting for. ”Yes, I want it. I’ll park my horse in front of Edarri Palace in Elan
and wait there for him if I have to,” she assured him. “But…what if he doesn’t come?
Tamark downed the rest of his drink. “If he’s alive, he’ll come, El. Would you ignore the throne if you were the rightful
heir?”
She shook her head and narrowed her eyes on him. “What’s your cut?”
“Twenty percent, and I’m taking less than my regular cut.”
She didn’t want to hear his feeble attempts to convince her he wasn’t robbing her.
The young man she thought was Zan stood from his chair and left the tavern.
Elywa tried not to react. She didn’t want Tamark to even suspect that there was someone she might give a damn about. No
weaknesses.
“Fifteen, Tamark or forget it. I’ll leave right now. Good luck trying to find a needle in a haystack. I’m the only one who can
do it.”
“Yes,” he sneered, reminding her of a viper. How could she have fallen in love with him? His icy heart was real. “No one
can sniff them out like the Jackal of East Tragarr.”
She kept her gaze on him steady and neutral, waiting for his agreement to her terms.
Another moment went by. She stood up.
“Fine,” he relented. “Fifteen percent.”
“Deal.” She spit into her palm and held it out to him.
“Deal.” He shook her hand and began to say something, but she walked away and then left the tavern.
Stepping out into the twilight, she took a deep, cleansing breath and looked around. Where was he? Why was she looking
for him? She’d finally shook him off her. She should be running to her horse.
In fact, that’s just what she did.
 She almost got away if not for the revolting words of Catchers reaching her ears a short distance away.
“You’re too pretty to let escape.”
“She ain’t going anywhere,” scoffed another.
Elywa blew out a sigh. They weren’t speaking to her. Catchers had caught her unwanted companion again. It was the
second time.
“I’m not a girl!” Levi told them. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
Elywa almost smiled at his warning. He was as innocent as a lamb.
There were six of them. Six Catchers. The more, the better. She slipped out of her saddle and flung a dagger at one of them,
dropping him to the ground. The other five noticed her and rushed her way.
She unsheathed her sword and without a moment of hesitation, sliced it across the second Catcher’s chest, killing him.
Bending her knees, she avoided a swipe to her neck. She twirled and slashed. She swung and spun around to strike again,
killing two men with one swipe, and one other whose belly was slashed open.
When they all lay dead around her, she turned to the boy. “Why did you leave the tavern when I told you to wait?”
“You killed them all.”
“That’s right.” She studied his horrified expression for an instant, then shook her head, as if trying to scatter any unwanted
thoughts of warmth toward him. “They’re Catchers. We’ve had this conversation already, Levi. They would rape you and then
sell you. Don’t forget that.” She walked over three of the dead to get to her horse. “If you would have pity on them and defend
them to me, then ride with someone else.”
She didn’t wait for his reply but gained her saddle and flicked the reins on her horse.
She should leave and not get attached. She should leave. She did.
She slept under the stars in fitful throes of distress brought on by her nightmares. They were always the same. Exactly what
had happened when she was eight and Zan was four. Catchers had broken into her house. It wasn’t a strong house or a big one.
It burned down easily enough. Her father screaming while they tortured her mother. And then, no other sound but their two
children crying.
The Catcher who snatched her sold her to Tamark. She never saw Zan again. Her first mission as a child was to kill another
Catcher. She did it happily. She even let him choke her before she stabbed him in the eyes with her daggers. The instant he was
off her, she leaped onto his back and stabbed him more than once.
Tamark tried to get her all the kills that involved Catchers. Fortunately, Assassins were often hired to kill them. A year ago,
she began taking her life more seriously and started taking bigger missions.
If she could kill Catchers along the way, she would. She wouldn’t let some kid or his god change her.
 C HAPTER 2

“N ow what?” the lanky, shaggy-haired kid asked no one and scratched his head while he stared into the direction the
female warrior had taken. “Should I go with her? I don’t think she likes me.”
Is he talking to You, God? Joah asked silently.
Levi. He'd heard the woman call the kid Levi.
“Who is she?” he asked both God and Levi coming up to stand beside the latter.
Levi startled back, his eyes, the color of the sea, went wide. “What? Where did you come from? Who are you?”
“Joah Makai.” He held out his hand and grinned, moving his face closer to Levi’s. “Who was that unforgettable woman?”
“I don’t know.” Levi set his gaze on the road. “She…she came out of nowhere tonight and helped me. That’s why she left,
because she doesn’t know me.”
He was lying. Not only had she known his name, but Joah had been sitting in the tavern and noticed the two of them
glancing at each other from across the room. Surely this boy was too young for her taste but she appeared to be worried about
him. Was she his sister?
Joah wondered how he was going to forget her now that he’d seen her clothed in starlight. He hadn’t seen anyone fight like
her since…Ezra, his father.
He wished his father could have seen her. He would have appreciated her well-timed jabs, her swift spins and honed
senses that told her exactly where her opponent was going to be when she landed. She was captivating to watch. She parried
and jabbed, blocked and then swung, taking them all down, one by one. Her blades danced in the moonlight. Her chestnut hair
shone beneath the starlight.
“Let me buy you something to eat.” Was his voice a little shaky at her memory? Joah wondered. He laughed at himself a
little and pulled his fur collar closer around his neck. “It’s cold out here.”
The boy examined him closer with a curious expression.
Joah hadn’t seen him consume a single morsel of food while he’d waited for the woman earlier. The boy looked lost. Food
always made one feel better. “Whoever she is, she can wait, hmm?”
Levi looked hesitant for a moment and then his belly grumbled.
Joah laughed and patted him on the back. “Come. Come, we’ll eat.”
When they went back inside the tavern, Joah saw the warrior’s male friend still sitting and finishing his drink. Whoever the
woman was, she didn’t trouble the man’s thoughts.
“Where are you from, Joah Makai?” the boy asked as they sat at a table. He rested his chin in his palm.
“I was raised–” he looked up at the serving girl. “Two stews and goat’s milk.” He returned his smile to Levi. “l was raised
in the mountains of Vendica. Mount Renda to be more specific.
Levi looked around his chair at the two sacks Joah put down. “You’re far from the Vendican Mountains. That explains your
backpacks.”
Joah laughed softly and nodded.
The warrior’s male friend caught his eye when he rose and left the tavern. Joah watched him and then returned his attention
to the boy, whose eyes were now closed.
“How about you?” Joah asked him.
“Hmm?” Levi blinked awake.
Joah let out a loud sigh and looked up. “Do You see this? He almost fell asleep right here at the table. I know the isolation
of the mountains might have made me dull, but–”
“Who are you talking to?” Levi interrupted giving him an odd look.
Joah’s grin deepened. “God.”
“God?”
Random documents with unrelated
content Scribd suggests to you:
he recommends that a well should be dug at each end of magazine,
with 3 to 4 ft. of water in it.
The importance of “good earth” is shewn by numerous accidents to
buildings, as, e.g., in 1779, the church of St. Mary, Genoa, and, in
1872, the cathedral of Alatri, in which latter case, the discharge left
moist earth to pass off by a water pipe, which it broke; but the church
was uninjured. Also at Clevedon Church, where the conductor passed
into a drain which was dry, but the stroke merely injured one
buttress and passed off by gas and water pipes.
Mr. Anderson states that earth contacts must be large. That it is
important that metal work be connected with lightning rod in at least
two parts, to realize a closed metallic circuit, and so offer entry and
exit. The earth contacts of the eight conductors of the Hotel de Ville,
Brussels, described, viz., their being enclosed in an iron box, 8 in. × 3
in. × 3½ in., with three series of conductors (details given): one
passing into a well, another to the gas main, the third to water main.
In ordinary buildings, the grating, with charcoal, coke, or cinders,
&c., as before described, may be sufficient; but with large buildings,
contact with water is absolutely necessary.
Periodical inspection. Author strongly urges this because
conductors deteriorate from action of wind and weather above
ground; the “earth” often becomes bad, owing to new drains, &c.;
buildings may be altered in regard of the quantity and position of
metals. An instance is given of damage to a building owing to the
change of position of iron safe. Conductors are often displaced by
workmen; and the number and position of new gas and water mains,
new trees, &c., also influence the power of conductors.
Appendix. This contains a very full list of books relating to
lightning conductors.
REPORT upon LIGHTNING DISCHARGES in
the Province of Schleswig-Holstein. By
Dr. Leonhard Weber. 1880. 8vo.
(Abstracted by Alexander Siemens).
The serious damage caused in Schleswig-Holstein by lightning led
to an official inquiry into the subject, the following is an abstract of
the first report of the commission.
It is stated that trees, by their gradual but uninterrupted discharge
of electricity, have a dispersing effect upon thunder-clouds, and tend
to lessen the energy of lightning. In six cases out of the twelve
examined, houses with trees close by, were struck, but not so heavily
as in another case where the building had no protection whatever.
Trees do not, however, afford complete protection to neighbouring
buildings, their conductive capacities not being sufficient to convey,
in the immeasurably short time required, such heavy discharges of
electricity as lightning flashes. This is instanced by their being often
wholly, or partially, destroyed by the current, or, as occurred in four
cases, by their passing it over to better conductors, buildings, &c.
If a thunder-cloud passed over a perfectly plane surface, the
discharge would take place in a vertical line between earth and cloud,
but prominent objects, such as isolated trees, buildings, lightning
conductors, and iron pumps, reaching down to underground water,
act as attractive points, and divert the discharge, the path of which is
also influenced by any conductors which happen to come between
them and the thunder-cloud, such influence depending upon the
capacity of the conductors. So that, generally an electric discharge
chooses that path which, taking the distance into account, offers the
best means of conduction.
It is frequently found that inflammable material is struck by
lightning without being ignited, on account, it is presumed, of the
short duration of discharge not allowing the material to become
sufficiently hot to burn, but whether the duration of discharge is
dependent upon the nature of the charge of the thunder-cloud, or
solely upon the condition of the objects struck, has not been
ascertained. The latter is, however, not without influence, as in two
of the four cases which resulted in fire, the cause was presumably
due to newly gathered hay stored at the top of the houses struck, and
in the other two cases to trees, which were struck at the same time,
the hay and the trees being bad conductors, and prolonging the
duration of discharge.
Four cases are given of buildings having lightning conductors
being struck.
The first case is that of a windmill, the conductor of which
terminated in a sheet of metal placed in a well near the building. The
discharge was exceedingly heavy, but beyond the platinum point
being almost entirely fused, no other damage was done.
The second is that of a house with two separate lightning
conductors, each ending in a copper plate, spirally coiled up, and laid
in underground water. One of the conductors was struck, and the
lightning passed from it, and, running horizontally along the
thatched roof of the house, descended by the other, causing no
damage.
The third case refers to a church and, adjoining it, a school
building. A portion of the discharge was diverted from the conductor
by an anchor in the church wall three metres off (which it
magnetized), and forced its way through the ceiling of the school-
house to a number of gas brackets, which were turned up towards
the ceiling. It was ascertained that the ground floor of the house was
completely under water, and well connected to earth through the gas
mains and an iron pump, a good continuous conductor thus being
formed.
Accordingly, the report recommends that lightning conductors
should be connected to the large masses of metal, such as gas and
water mains, which are found in our houses.
In the fourth instance a church had a lightning conductor, which
was connected to the top of two large iron supports running through
the steeple to the nave, and which terminated in a coiled earth-plate,
1 sq. metre (11 sq. ft.), supposed to lie in water 7 metres (23 ft.)
underground. The lightning struck the conductor and, passing to the
iron supports, sprang from one through the outer wall, close to an
iron window frame, and from the other across the stucco ceiling,
going to earth 100 feet off through the altar gilding, which it
blackened. It was subsequently found that the copper earth-plate was
only ⅓ metre (1 ft. 1 in. sq.), and that it was buried loosely round the
rod in dry sand, the rod itself reaching 2 to 3 metres further down,
and just touching water without an earth-plate, and also that the two
supports had no earth connection, thus forming a great danger
instead of a safeguard to the church.
 DIE KONSTRUKTION und ANLEGUNG DER
BLITZABLEITER zum Schutze aller Arten
VON GEBÄUDEN SEESCHIFFEN und
TELEGRAFEN STATIONEN. Von Dr. Otto
Buchner. Weimar. 1867. 8vo.
(Abstracted by R. Van der Broek.)
The book is divided into two parts:
1. General, or Introductory, and
2. Practical.
The first, or Introductory part, is sub-divided into:
1. Historical and statistical notes;
2. The theory of atmospheric electricity, and of the lightning
conductor; and
3. A chapter on natural lightning conductors.
The great philosopher, Lichtenberg, of Gottingen, said in the year
1794: “People are struck and their dwellings are destroyed by
lightning because they will have it so. It does not matter to us
whether parsimony, carelessness, ignorance, or anything else is the
cause of this.” The author asserts that this dictum may be equally
applied to the present generation.
Professor J. H. Winkler, of Leipzig, discovered, in the year 1746,
that electricity is the principal cause of thunderstorms.
The first lightning conductor in Germany was erected 1769, at
Hamburg, on the steeple of the Jacobi Church.
Between the years 1835 and 1863, a period of 19 years, 2238
persons were killed by lightning in France. The maximum in one year
(1835) was 111 and the minimum 48. The total number of persons
struck by lightning amounted to 6714; of this large number 1700
persons would have escaped, if they had been careful to avoid the
neighbourhood of trees, whilst the storms were raging. The greatest
number of the accidents caused by lightning occur during the
months of July and August; not a single fatal case is on record for the
months of November, December, January, and February. The annual
average number of persons killed by lightning was 3 in Belgium, 22
in England, and 10 in Sweden. In the low-lying Departments of
France the average is 2 or 3; the average increases rapidly for the
Mountainous Departments to 24, 28, 38, 44, and (in Auvergne) 48.
The per centage of males in France is 67, females 10, and in the
remaining cases the sex was not stated. In Prussia the proportion is
184 males to 105 females, in Sweden 5 males to 3 females.
The largest number of persons killed by one discharge is 8 or 9.
The author states that the return shock is only mechanical in its
effects.
Professor Müller lays down the following conditions for lightning
conductors:—
1. The rod must end in a very sharp point.
2. There must be no want of continuity between the extreme point
and the earth contact: and
3. The different parts of the conductor must be of the requisite
dimensions.
In practice we find that the first mentioned condition is incorrect,
as sharp points are too liable to be fused.
The rod must be made of a pyramidal or a conical form. Short rods
of not above 2 metres (6 feet 7 inches) in length may be made of a
cylindrical form. The best form of rod is one tapering from a base of
from 50 to 60 millimetres (2 inches to 2·4 inches) in diameter to a
diameter of not less than 14 millimetres (0·56 inches). As it is
difficult to fix rods of a height of 10 metres (33 feet), it is better to
erect one long rod, and several shorter ones on different parts of the
roof and connect them together. The principal rod should have a
height of from 2½ to 3 metres (8 to 10 feet) and the secondary rods
(Nebenstangen) should be at least 1 metre (3 feet 3 inches) high.
The form of point universally used in Germany is a strongly
firegilded copper cone.
Kuhn advocates the use of chemically pure silver for the points.
His arguments in favour of this metal are incontrovertible. The
conducting power of silver is 1·36; that of pure copper being 1. The
fusibility of silver (1,000 c.) is sufficiently high for the purpose. The
atmosphere, unless it contains sulphur in a gaseous or a liquid form,
has no effect on silver. Silver is cheaper than platinum, and not more
expensive than a gilded copper cone, and it can be easily soldered to
other metals.
The point should be screwed on, as well as soldered to the rod. All
other but the conical form of point should be rejected.
The best material for the earth contact is galvanised iron.
As regards the protection of sea-going vessels, Snow Harris’s
arrangement, converting, as it were, the vessel into one mass of
metal, is perfect.
The first practicable lightning conductor for the protection of
telegraph wires was constructed by Steinheil in 1846. His
arrangement was somewhat modified by Breguet and Fardely.
Meiszner introduced a real improvement.
On the Prussian railway telegraphs two “point-systems” are in use,
one for small stations, and the other for larger stations.
It is desirable that all lightning conductors be examined once a
year. The metallic connection throughout must be perfect, the point
must be kept free from rust, and the earth contact must be good. The
whole circuit should also be tested by means of a battery and a
galvanometer.
 EARTH CONNECTIONS OF LIGHTNING
CONDUCTORS. By Lieut.-Col. Stotherd,
R.E.
(Journal of the Society of Telegraph Engineers, May 12, 1875.)
(Abstracted by W. H. Preece, C.E.)
Arguing from the case of a powder magazine at East London, Cape
of Good Hope, when the iron conductor was led into a cemented
water-tank, frequently dry, and where it was destroyed, the author
raises two questions:
1. Should such tanks be used for earth?
2. Is iron the proper metal to use?
He gives a decided negative reply to the first, and advocates the
use of galvanized iron properly protected from atmospheric action.
He suggests rods 1 inch in diameter, or bands 2in. × ⅜in. thick.
In the discussion which followed it was mentioned that the ground
about Torquay is so insulated that plates had to be carried out to sea
to secure a good earth for the telegraph there, and that of the
numerous churches which had been inspected, there was not a single
conductor that could be passed. It was pointed out that when copper
conductors were fixed with iron wall-eyes—a frequent thing—
galvanic currents were set up, and the conductor destroyed at the
ground line.
It was stated that the earth connection of a supposed perfect
conductor was found to be equal to a resistance of 1,000 Ohms.
Mr. Preece, Major Malcolm, R.E., Dr. Mann, Mr. Pidgeon, Mr.
Kempe, Mr. Graves, Mr. Spagnoletti, and Mr. Latimer Clark, took
part in the discussion.
 REMARKS on some PRACTICAL points
connected with the construction of
LIGHTNING CONDUCTORS. By R. J. Mann,
M.D., F.R.A.S. (Quarterly Journal Meteor.
Soc., October, 1875).
(Abstracted by G. J. Symons, F.R.S.)
States that there are certain principles accepted as established
facts, e.g., that conductors should be of metal of high conductivity,
and of adequate dimensions. That in 1854 the French electricians
held that a “quadrangular iron bar ¾ in. diameter, was sufficient in
conducting power for all purposes.” Since then, wire ropes, owing to
their pliability, have nearly superseded solid rods, and copper has
been preferred to iron because of its higher conducting power and
less liability to oxidise. But provided that the iron be galvanized, and
of five times the sectional area of a copper conductor, considers the
metal immaterial.
Author states that the resistance of a conductor increases with its
length, therefore sectional area of conductor must be increased for
lofty buildings. Modern French electricians employ copper rope 0·4
to 0·8 in. diameter. M. R. Francisque Michel considers galvanized
iron wire rope 0·8 in. diameter sufficient for all ordinary cases.
Copper wire rope 0·5 in. diameter (6¾ oz. per foot) recently applied
to St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Importance of perfect earth connection strongly insisted upon, but
it is matter of some difficulty, and the oxidation of the earth
terminals, and their inefficiency doubtless lead to most of the
reported failures of lightning conductors. Author quotes Pouillet and
Becquerel, as saying, that for the efficient discharge of the lightning,
which could be carried by a copper rod 0·8 in. diameter, contact
must be obtained with 1,200 square yards of moist earth, but this
large requirement can only easily be obtained in towns by connection
with the water mains. Various modes of obtaining adequate earth
contact by iron harrows, Callaud’s grapnel in basket of coke, &c.,
described.
Explains the rationale of testing goodness of earth currents by the
galvanometer. Calls attention to the destruction of upper terminals
of conductors to factory chimneys by the emission of sulphurous
fumes, and suggests that they might be cased in lead.
Calls attention to the importance of every joint being made
absolutely perfect.
Urges the superiority of points for upper terminals, owing to their
facilitating silent discharge, and rendering lateral discharges from
the conductor less probable.
Thinks that multiple points of copper kept fairly sharp and clean
are, on the whole, the best upper terminals.
Considers that all large masses of metal in a building should be
connected with the conductor; but quotes M. Callaud, who holds the
opposite view. Dr. Mann, however, points out that if the conductor
be efficient and perfect, the accidents which M. Callaud
contemplates, and on which he bases his arguments, could not occur.
Calls attention to the ready path afforded by the column of heated
smoke discharged by chimneys, and hence alludes to the placing of a
coronal conductor, as well as a multiple point on important
chimneys.
Suggests the utilization of rain water pipes, by perfecting their
joints, and securing a good earth connection at their base.
ON THE PROTECTION OF BUILDINGS FROM
LIGHTNING. By R. S. Brough, 4to,
Mussoorie, 1878.
(Abstracted by W. H. Preece, C.E.)
A carefully prepared theoretical and practical paper, adapted for
use in India. Author advocates the use of iron from its higher
temperature of fusion, and greater specific heat than copper, its long
protection from decay by galvanization and its cheapness. He prefers
wire cables from the absence of joints in them. He gives precise
instructions for the formation of a good earth, and advocates
periodic electrical tests.
 LIGHTNING CONDUCTORS. By Professors
Ayrton and Perry. (Journal Society of
Telegraph Engineers. Vol. V., 1876, p. 412.)
(Abstracted by W. H. Preece, C.E.)
The authors controvert Clark Maxwell’s views that a building
would be perfectly protected from lightning by being enclosed in a
network, or cage of wires, without the use of the earth. They object to
the application of the laws of static electricity alone to such a case.
Current induction intervenes, and this is not subject to the screening
action of a cage. Hence, though a metallic cage may assist the
protection of a house, it does not do so perfectly.
 ON THE PROPER FORM OF LIGHTNING
CONDUCTORS. By W. H. Preece, C.E.
(British Association Report, 1880).
(Abstracted by G. J. Symons, F.R.S.)
Author states that ever since lightning conductors have been used,
there have been disputes as to whether the discharge passes over the
surface of conductors or through their mass. Snow Harris, Henry,
Melsens, and Guillemin have held that it passed over the surface;
Faraday held the opposite view.
The arguments in favour of the surface form are, in the opinion of
the author, deductions from exploded theories, from imperfect
experiments, or from erroneous interpretations of well ascertained
facts. No direct experiments have ever been made to solve the
question, as far as the author knows. Quantities of electricity, that is
static discharges from condensers, are in incessant use for
telegraphic purposes, and are found to follow exactly Ohm’s laws,
even with the most delicate apparatus. The knowledge of the flow of
electricity through conductors, of the retarding influence of
electrostatic capacity upon this flow, and of the distribution of
charge, has become so much greater of late years through the great
extension of submarine telegraphy and the labours of Sir William
Thomson, Clerk Maxwell, and others, that the author questions if
any English electrician would now be found to argue in favour of the
surface form. Nevertheless, as ribbons and tubes still continue to be
used, and it appeared very desirable to settle the question
experimentally, the author determined to try and do so.

First Experiments, June 28, 1880.

Dr. Warren de la Rue, who is always ready to place his splendidly

equipped laboratory at the service of science, not only allowed the
author to use his enormous battery and his various appliances, but
aided him by his advice, and assisted him in conducting the
experiments.
Copper conductors, 30 feet long, of precisely the same mass, (a)
drawn into a solid cylinder, (b) made into a thin tube, and (c) rolled
into a thin ribbon, were first of all obtained. The source of electricity
was 3,240 chloride of silver cells. The charge was accumulated in a
condenser of a capacity of 42·8 microfarads. It was discharged
through platinum wire of ·0125 diameter, of different lengths. The
sudden discharge of such a large quantity of electricity as that
contained by 42·8 mf. raised to a potential of 3,317[5] volts is very
difficult to measure. It partakes very much of the character of
lightning. In fact, the difference of potential per unit length of air is
probably greater than that of ordinary lightning itself. It completely
deflagrates 2½ inches of the platinum wire, but by increasing the
length of the wire it could be made to reproduce all the different
phases of heat which are indicated by the various shades of red until
we reach white heat, fusion, and deflagration. Hence the character of
the deflagration, which is (by its scattered particles) faithfully
recorded on a white card to which the wire is attached, is a fairly
approximate measure of the charge that has passed, while the length
of wire, raised to a dull red heat, is a better one, for any variation in
the strength of the current within moderate limits is faithfully
recorded by the change of colour.
5. The electromotive force of the chloride of the silver cell is 1·03 volt.
Experiment 1.—Similar charges were passed through the ribbon,
tube, and wire, and in each case 2½ inches of wire were deflagrated.
No difference whatever could be detected in the character of the
deflagration.
Experiment 2.—Ten inches of wire were taken and similar charges
passed through. In each case the wire was raised to very bright
redness, bordering on the fusing point, and in two cases the wire
broke. In each case the wire knuckled up into wrinkles, and gave
evidence of powerful mechanical disturbance. The same wire was not
used a second time. No difference could be detected in the effect
through the different conductors.
Experiment 3.—Silver wire of the same diameter and length was
used, and similar charges transmitted through it. Redness was barely
visible, but the behaviour of the wire was similar in each case.
The conclusion arrived at unhesitatingly was, that change of form
produced no difference whatever in the character of the discharge,
and that it depended simply on mass.

Second Experiments, July 19, 1880.

As it might be urged that the length of conductor tested was so

short, and its resistance so small that considerable variations might
occur and yet be invisible, similar lengths (30 feet) of lead—a very
bad conductor, its resistance being twelve times that of copper—were
obtained, drawn as a wire, made as a tube, and rolled as a ribbon,
each being of similar weight.
Experiment 4.—Charges from the same condenser, 42·8 mf., but
with 3,280 cells, were passed through, and the discharges observed
on 6 inches of platinum wire 0·0125 inch diameter, which in each
case was heated to bright redness. No variation whatever could be
detected, whether the wire, the tube, or the ribbon were used.
Experiment 5.—In order to form some idea as to how closely any
variation in the character of the discharge could be estimated, a long
piece of platinum wire was used, and the length adjusted until just
visible redness was obtained; then a diminution of 10 per cent. (3
feet) produced a marked change to dull redness, and further
excisions raised the temperature to brighter and still brighter red.
The conclusion arrived at was that any change in resistance of 5
per cent. would have been clearly and easily discernible.
It therefore appears proved that the discharges of electricity of
high potentials obey the laws of Ohm, and are not affected by change
of form. Hence, extent of surface does not favour lightning
discharges. No more efficient lightning conductor than a cylindrical
rod or a wire rope can therefore be devised.
 ÉTABLISSEMENT DE LA FORMULE
RELATIVE AU RAYON D’ACTION DES
PARATONNERRES. Par Emile Lacoine.
(L’Electricité, October, 1880.)
(Abstracted by G. J. Symons, F.R.S.)
This author gives a formula for determining the area protected,
which he considers to vary with the height of the storm cloud, and
the elevation of the ground. He states that the mean elevation of the
storm clouds at Constantinople is as low as about 325 feet. He says
that conductors placed near the extremities of a building have their
radius of protection diminished, and therefore recommends a line
conductor running round the building. (The circuit des faites of the
Paris Municipal Commission, see ante page 68).
He says that his formula leads to nearly the same results as have
hitherto been adopted, but he gives three examples, the results of
which are—length of conductor being 1·00, radius protected is
respectively 3·80, 1·10, and 2·20.
 ON THE SPACE PROTECTED BY A
LIGHTNING CONDUCTOR. By W. H. Preece,
C.E. (Phil. Mag., Dec., 1880.)
(Abstracted by G. J. Symons, F.R.S.)
In the early part of this paper the author discusses the distribution
of electricity in the space between the storm cloud and the earth’s
surface, and points out that the air in an electric field is in a state of
tension or strain; and this strain increases along the lines of force
with the electromotive force producing it until a limit is reached,
when a rent or split occurs in the air along the line of least resistance
—which is disruptive discharge, or lightning.
Since the resistance which the air or any other dielectric opposes
to this breaking strain is thus limited, there must be a certain rate of
fall of potential per unit length which corresponds to this resistance.
It follows, therefore, that the number of equipotential surfaces per
unit length can represent this limit, or rather the stress which leads
to disruptive discharge. Hence we can represent this limit by a
length. We can produce disruptive discharge either by approaching
the electrified surfaces producing the electric field near to each other,
or by increasing the quantity of electricity present upon them; for in
each case we should increase the electromotive force and close up, as
it were, the equipotential surfaces beyond the limit of resistance. Of
course this limit of resistance varies with every dielectric; but we are
now dealing only with air at ordinary pressures. It appears from the
experiments of Drs. Warren de la Rue and Hugo Müller that the
electromotive force determining disruptive discharge in air is about
40,000 volts per centimetre, except for very thin layers of air.
If we take into consideration a flat portion of the earth’s surface,
and assume a highly charged thunder-cloud floating at some finite
distance above it, they would, together with the air, form an
electrified system. There would be an electric field; and if we take a
small portion of this system, it would be uniform.
 If the cloud gradually approached the earth’s surface, the field
would become more intense, the equipotential surfaces would
gradually close up, the tension of the air would increase until at last
the limit of resistance of the air would be reached; disruptive
discharge would take place, with its attendant thunder and lightning.

Fig. 1.

If the earth-surface be not flat but have a hill or a building, as A or

B, upon it, then the lines of force and equipotential planes will be
distorted, as shown in fig. 1. If the hill or building be so high as to
make the distance HD equal to the limit of resistance (fig. 2), then we
shall again have disruptive discharge.

Fig. 2.

If instead of a hill or building we erect a solid rod of metal, G H,

then the field will be distorted as shown in fig. 2. Now it is quite
evident that whatever be the relative distance of the cloud and earth,
or whatever be the motion of the cloud, there must be a space d d´
along which the lines of force must be longer than c c´ or H D; and
hence there must be a circle described around G as a centre which is
less subject to disruptive discharge than the space outside the circle;
and hence this area may be said to be protected by the rod G H. The
same reasoning applies to each equipotential plane; and as each
circle diminishes in radius as we ascend, it follows that the rod
virtually protects a cone of space whose height is the rod, and whose
base is the circle described by the radius G c. It is important to find
out what this radius is.

Fig. 3.

Let us assume that a thunder-cloud is approaching the rod A B

(fig. 3) from above, and that it has reached a point D´ where the
distance D´ B is equal to the perpendicular height D´ C´. It is evident
that if the potential at D´ be increased until the striking-distance be
attained, the line of discharge will be along D´ C´ or D´ B, and that
the length A C´ is under protection. Now the nearer the point D´ is
to D the shorter will be the length A C´ under protection; but the
minimum length will be A C, since the cloud would never descend
lower than the perpendicular distance D C.
Supposing, however, that the cloud had actually descended to D
when the discharge took place. Then the latter would strike to the
nearest point; and any point within the circumference of the portion
of the circle B C (whose radius is D B) would be at a less distance
from D than either the point B or the point C.
 “Hence a lightning-rod protects a conic space whose height is the
length of the rod, whose base is a circle having its radius equal to
the height of the rod, and whose side is the quadrant of a circle
whose radius is equal to the height of the rod.”
Upon this rule the author makes the following concluding
remarks:
“I have carefully examined every record of accident that I could
examine, and I have not yet found one case where damage was
inflicted inside this cone when the building was properly protected.
There are many cases where the pinnacles of the same turret of a
church have been struck where one has had a rod attached to it; but
it is clear that the other pinnacles were outside the cone; and
therefore, for protection, each pinnacle should have had its own rod.
It is evident also that every prominent point of a building should
have its rod, and that the higher the rod the greater is the space
protected.”
 SHORT ACCOUNT of the STRIKING BY
LIGHTNING of the RAILWAY TERMINUS at
ANTWERP, on the 10th of JULY, 1865. By
M. Melsens, Member of the Royal Academy
of Belgium.
(Abstracted by R. Van der Broek.)
On the date mentioned, between three and four o’clock in the
afternoon, a violent storm burst over Antwerp, during which the
lightning struck the Railway Terminus, without, however,
occasioning any other damage than the perforation of a single hole in
one of the glass squares of the roof.
The author states that the effect of the discharge on this square of
glass, which was about 4mm (0·2in.) thick, was remarkable; it
appeared as if it had been traversed by a projectile from below, the
perforation, viewed from above, being broken and chipped, whilst
viewed from below it showed a clean edge. The sinuosities caused by
the chipping on the upper surface had rounded edges, and the glass
appeared to have been subjected to incipient fusion. Not a single
fragment of glass was found on the glass squares or in the gutters of
the roof.
The author arrives at the following conclusions: The square of
glass was pierced in the same manner as any square of similar nature
and dimensions, placed in identical circumstances, would be, were it
traversed by a spherical projectile fired at a low velocity from a
firearm. The fracture resembled one that would be produced by a
missile thrown from below, that is to say, from the earth to the sky.
The form of the opening indicated that the earth was positively
electrified.
The author notices that, according to M. F. Duprez, negative
electricity generally shows itself in abnormal conditions of the
atmosphere, during storms, rains, &c., and when the wind blows
from the western quarters between N. and S. Now, on the day in
question, it rained and the wind blew from the west.
The author publicly thanks M. Ruhmkorff for his skilful and
disinterested co-operation in proving the correctness of his (the
author’s) view of the distribution of the electricity at the Antwerp
discharge. M. Ruhmkorff has, at request, pierced squares of ordinary
glass about 1mm (0·04in.) thick by the discharge of his great induction
apparatus charged by a powerful Leyden battery.
 ON LIGHTNING PROTECTORS WITH
POINTS, CONDUCTORS, and MULTIPLE
EARTH CONNECTIONS, a detailed
Description of the Lightning Protector
erected on the Town Hall of Brussels in
1865, with an Account of the Principles
adopted in the Construction, by M.
Melsens, Member of the Royal Academy of
Sciences of Belgium.
 (Abstracted by R. Van der Broek.)
As the author states in his preliminary observations that it is
impossible to give a complete condensed description of the Lightning
Protector, which he erected on the Town Hall at Brussels, we will
merely draw attention to a number of facts, regarding the system
followed, some of them, we believe, of a novel description.
M. Daniel Colladon, the author states, has observed that as a rule
lightning does not strike a single part or prominent point of the
objects that are struck or destroyed by it; and that, in the majority of
cases, it does not strike in the form of a single spark, but in the form
of a sheet with one or more principal centres of intensity. The
correctness of this observation, the author considers fully borne out
by the ravages which the electric discharge committed on the Town
Hall at Brussels, on the 10th September, 1863. He gives an elaborate
description of the effects of the flash on the building. It is interesting
to note that the ravages principally took place at the side exposed to
the west north-west wind, which was blowing at the time the
building was struck.
In the ensuing winter the Municipal Council of Brussels took into
consideration the necessity of protecting the Town Hall against a
similar disaster, and the author was requested to superintend the
erection of lightning protectors on the building.
The characteristics of the author’s system, as exemplified by the
lightning protectors erected on the Brussels Town Hall, may be
briefly summarised as follows:—
1. The points are very numerous—of three kinds; some long, sharp,
and gilded, others of middling length, made of iron; and finally
some small and very sharp, consisting of copper.
2. The points are replaced by aigrettes (brushes of points diverging
from a common base).
3. The conductor is not insulated.
4. The connections are simple and unchangeable, the joints are each
embedded in a mass of zinc.
5. The surface exposed to the air is considerable.
6. The conductor consists of thin, and numerous wires, which are
very flexible, so as easily to be led round all the corners of the
buildings.
7. The conductor is made of galvanised iron.
8. The earth connections are multiple: firstly, a well within which a
large surface of metal is plunged; and, secondly, two enormous
networks of metal pipes, offering an immense contact surface
with the earth. One of these networks is in direct communication
with all the reservoirs and all the water sources of the environs of
Brussels and also in indirect communication with two rivers and
two canals.
The author has arrived at the conclusion that the height of the rod
is a secondary question, as the radius of protection has not been
determined by irrefutable proofs, and as that length is, in
comparison with the distance and the extent of the thunder-clouds,
so small a factor that it may safely be neglected. The author states
that he has been greatly gratified to meet with the same opinion in a
paper which Mr. W. H. Preece published in Vol. I., No. 3, page 366,
of the Journal of the Society of Telegraph Engineers for 1872: “When
we consider the distance of the cloud and the area of its surface, the
height of a building vanishes in the general figure.”
The author points out that M. Perrot has endeavoured to
demonstrate by experiment that the neutralizing area of a lightning
protector surmounted by a crown of sharp points is far more
extensive than that of an ordinary protector. M Perrott further
thought, and MM. Babinet and Gavarret shared his opinion, that it is
sufficient to shelter the ordinary protector from discharges of
lightning by arming it with numerous, long, sharp, and well
conducting divergent points. M. Gavarret after having repeated Mr.
Perrott’s experiments, found the results so conclusive that he wrote
to the author in the beginning of 1865: “It is at the present time no
longer permitted to erect lightning protectors with single points.”
The metal of which the points are made must be a very good
conductor. With regard to their conductivity, the metals follow each
other in the following order: copper, silver, iron, platinum. No metals
are used but those which resist fusion. The author rejected platinum
and silver: the former because it fuses very readily by the electric
discharge; and the latter, because it has, in his opinion, no advantage
over copper.
The conductor, although galvanized, received several coats of
paint; but the points (aigrettes) of course remained metallic. With
regard to the general principle of connecting the protector with any
masses of metal which may be about the building, the author has
ever since 1865 endeavoured to demonstrate, that it is not sufficient,
as might at first sight be supposed, to form that connection at one
single point; there must be at least two points of contact, so as always
to ensure a closed metallic circuit.
The contact with the water presents a surface of about ten square
metres (12 sq. yds.), bringing both surfaces of the cylinder into
account.
With regard to the earth connection, the author quotes M. Perrot,
who remarks that with the ordinary protector the surface immerged
offers a resistance at least 10,000 times greater than the conductor
itself; it is therefore necessary to increase the surface of the earth-
plate as much as possible.
In order to retard as much as possible the oxidation of the
cylinder, the author introduced two hectolitres (6 bushels) of lime
into the well, thus rendering the water alkaline.
 DE L’APPLICATION du RHE-
ÉLECTROMÈTRE aux PARATONNERRES
DES TÉLÉGRAPHES. Par M. Melsens.
(Abstracted by R. Van der Broek.)
In this pamphlet the author describes in § 1 an apparatus to show
the presence of atmospheric electricity in telegraph wires.
In §§ 2 and 4 he explains how the apparatus is joined up in the
Belgian telegraph offices.
§ 3 contains a résumé of observations made at the government
telegraph offices between June, 1875, and March, 1876.
The author states in this paragraph that, on the 19th of June, 1875,
the Rheo-Electrometer at the office at Louvain, showed a deflection
of 85° East, although there was not the slighest appearance of
atmospheric electricity. The fact was, that at the time a thunder
storm was raging at Beverloo, distant from Louvain about 40
kilometres (25 miles).
 TROISIÈME NOTE sur les
PARATONNERRES. Par M. Melsens.
(Abstracted by R. Van der Broek.)
On the 3rd of July, 1874, the church of Ste. Croix, at Ixelles, was
struck by lightning. The building was provided with a lightning
protector, which was constructed as follows: The point consisted of a
platinum cone of about 30° (the form officially adopted in France in
1855), all the supports of the protector were soldered with zinc. This
was attached to the steeple, and rose to 53 metres or 174 feet above
the pavement. It consisted of an iron rod 18 mm. (0·71 in.) in
diameter (M. E. Sacré’s system). The conductor passed from the
principal roof along the roofs, descending to a point near a pump,
behind the vestry, where the well (W) was situate. There is an
abundance of water in the well, which is about 7 m. (23 ft.) deep. The
conductor terminated in the well, by a cast-iron plate 0·65 m. (2 ft. 1
in.) by 0·50 m. (1ft. 8 in.), thus presenting a surface of 0·654 ⬜ m.
(7 sq. ft.). A little in front of the transept there is a supplementary
rod B 5·25 m. (17 ft. 3 in.) high, 11 m. (36 ft.) distant from the point (c
in diagram) which was struck; and 22 m. (72 ft.) distant from that
point there was a second rod D, whose height was 9 m. (29½ ft.)
above the top of the roof.
The damage to the church was trifling, but the author contends
that the fact of the church having been struck at all, proves that a
building armed with a protector constructed on the usual principle is
not completely protected.
 A. Principal conductor on steeple.
B. D. Two supplementary receiving rods.
C. Stone cross at end of transept, which was struck,
W. Well in which conductor made earth connection.
 QUATRIÈME NOTE sur les
PARATONNERRES. Par M. Melsens.
(Abstracted by R. Van der Broek.)
This treats § 1 of observations on the distribution of the spark of
electric batteries and machines over numerous metallic conductors
of different sections, lengths, and nature, and on the passage of
electricity of tension in bad conductors.
§ 2. Effects of soldered joints on the conductivity and the
resistance of conductors. Interrupted lightning protectors.
§ 3. The distribution of sparks from Holtz’s machine and
Ruhmkorff’s coil over two conductors outwardly identical, but one of
iron and the other of copper. Comparative resistance to fusion and
rupture for iron and copper conductors. Identical damage produced
by discharges in several homogeneous and solid conductors.
Welcome to our website – the perfect destination for book lovers and
knowledge seekers. We believe that every book holds a new world,
offering opportunities for learning, discovery, and personal growth.
That’s why we are dedicated to bringing you a diverse collection of
books, ranging from classic literature and specialized publications to
self-development guides and children's books.

More than just a book-buying platform, we strive to be a bridge

connecting you with timeless cultural and intellectual values. With an
elegant, user-friendly interface and a smart search system, you can
quickly find the books that best suit your interests. Additionally,
our special promotions and home delivery services help you save time
and fully enjoy the joy of reading.

Join us on a journey of knowledge exploration, passion nurturing, and

personal growth every day!

ebookbell.com