3:15 a.m.
said Robin . `` Yes ; well , his heart and the Atlantic Cable are united , so as a matter of course the two would snap together . '' Now , while Smith and his young assistant were conversing thus facetio-scientifically , the electricians on duty in the testing-room were watching with silent intensity the indications on their instruments . Suddenly , at 3:15 a.m. , when exactly eighty-four miles of cable had been laid out , he who observed the galvanometer saw the speck of light glide to the end of the scale , and vanish ! If a speck of fire had been seen to glide through the key-hole of the powder-magazine it could scarcely have created greater consternation than did the disappearance of that light ! The commotion in the testing-room spread instantly to every part of the ship ; the whole staff of electricians was at once roused , and soon afterwards the engines of the Great Eastern were slowed and stopped , while , with bated breath and anxious looks , men whispered to each other that there was `` a fault in the cable . '' A fault !