Great War Syndicate
Page 3
known as "crabs." They were not large,and the only part of them which projected above the water was themiddle of an elliptical deck, slightly convex, and heavily mailed withribs of steel. These vessels were fitted with electric engines ofextraordinary power, and were capable of great speed. At their bows,fully protected by the overhanging deck, was the machinery by whichtheir peculiar work was to be accomplished. The Syndicate intended toconfine itself to marine operations, and for the present it wascontented with these two classes of vessels.
The armament for each of the large vessels, as has been said before,consisted of a single gun of long range, and the ammunition wasconfined entirely to a new style of projectile, which had never yetbeen used in warfare. The material and construction of this projectilewere known only to three members of the Syndicate, who had invented andperfected it, and it was on account of their possession of this secretthat they had been invited to join that body.
This projectile was not, in the ordinary sense of the word, anexplosive, and was named by its inventors, "The Instantaneous Motor."It was discharged from an ordinary cannon, but no gunpowder or otherexplosive compound was used to propel it. The bomb possessed, initself the necessary power of propulsion, and the gun was used merelyto give it the proper direction.
These bombs were cylindrical in form, and pointed at the outer end.They were filled with hundreds of small tubes, each radiating outwardfrom a central line. Those in the middle third of the bomb pointeddirectly outward, while those in its front portion were inclinedforward at a slight angle, and those in the rear portion backward atthe same angle. One tube at the end of the bomb, and pointing directlybackward, furnished the motive power.
Each of these tubes could exert a force sufficient to move an ordinarytrain of passenger cars one mile, and this power could be exertedinstantaneously, so that the difference in time in the starting of atrain at one end of the mile and its arrival at the other would not beappreciable. The difference in concussionary force between a trainmoving at the rate of a mile in two minutes, or even one minute, andanother train which moves a mile in an instant, can easily be imagined.
In these bombs, those tubes which might direct their powers downward orlaterally upon the earth were capable of instantaneously propellingevery portion of solid ground or rock to a distance of two or threehundred yards, while the particles of objects on the surface of theearth were instantaneously removed to a far greater distance. The tubewhich propelled the bomb was of a force graduated according tocircumstances, and it would carry a bomb to as great a distance asaccurate observation for purposes of aim could be made. Its force wasbrought into action while in the cannon by means of electricity whilethe same effect was produced in the other tubes by the concussion ofthe steel head against the object aimed at.
What gave the tubes their power was the jealously guarded secret.
The method of aiming was as novel as the bomb itself. In this processnothing depended on the eyesight of the gunner; the personal equationwas entirely eliminated. The gun was so mounted that its direction wasaccurately indicated by graduated scales; there was an instrument whichwas acted upon by the dip, rise, or roll of the vessel, and whichshowed at any moment the position of the gun with reference to theplane of the sea-surface.
Before the discharge of the cannon an observation was taken by one ofthe scientific men, which accurately determined the distance to theobject to be aimed at, and reference to a carefully preparedmathematical table showed to what points on the graduated scales thegun should be adjusted, and the instant that the that the muzzle of thecannon was in the position that it was when the observation was taken,a button was touched and the bomb was instantaneously placed on thespot aimed at. The exactness with which the propelling force of thebomb could be determined was an important factor in this method ofaiming.
As soon as three of the spring-armoured vessels and five "crabs" werecompleted, the Syndicate felt itself ready to begin operations. It wasindeed time. The seas had been covered with American and Britishmerchantmen hastening homeward, or to friendly ports, before the actualcommencement of hostilities. But all had not been fortunate enough toreach safety within the limits of time allowed, and several Americanmerchantmen had been already captured by fast British cruisers.
The members of the Syndicate well understood that if a war was to becarried on as they desired, they must strike the first real blow.Comparatively speaking, a very short time had elapsed since thedeclaration of war, and the opportunity to take the initiative wasstill open.
It was in order to take this initiative that, in the early hours of aJuly morning, two of the Syndicate's armoured vessels, each accompaniedby a crab, steamed out of a New England port, and headed for the pointon the Canadian coast where it had been decided to open the campaign.
The vessels of the Syndicate had no individual names. Thespring-armoured ships were termed "repellers," and were numbered, andthe crabs were known by the letters of the alphabet. Each repeller wasin charge of a Director of Naval Operations; and the whole naval forceof the Syndicate was under the command of a Director-in-chief. On thismomentous occasion this officer was on board of Repeller No. 1, andcommanded the little fleet.
The repellers had never been vessels of great speed, and their presentarmour of steel strips, the lower portion of which was frequently underwater, considerably retarded their progress; but each of them was takenin tow by one of the swift and powerful crabs, and with this assistancethey made very good time, reaching their destination on the morning ofthe second day.
It was on a breezy day, with a cloudy sky, and the sea moderatelysmooth, that the little fleet of the Syndicate lay to off the harbourof one of the principal Canadian seaports. About five miles away theheadlands on either side of the mouth of the harbour could be plainlyseen. It had been decided that Repeller No. 1 should begin operations.Accordingly, that vessel steamed about a mile nearer the harbour,accompanied by Crab A. The other repeller and crab remained in theirfirst position, ready to act in case they should be needed.
The approach of two vessels, evidently men-of-war, and carrying theAmerican flag, was perceived from the forts and redoubts at the mouthof the harbour, and the news quickly spread to the city and to thevessels in port. Intense excitement ensued on land and water, amongthe citizens of the place as well as its defenders. Every man who hada post of duty was instantly at it; and in less than half an hour theBritish man-of-war Scarabaeus, which had been lying at anchor a shortdistance outside the harbour, came steaming out to meet the enemy.There were other naval vessels in port, but they required more time tobe put in readiness for action.
As soon as the approach of Scarabaeus was perceived by Repeller No. 1,a boat bearing a white flag was lowered from that vessel and wasrapidly rowed toward the British ship. When the latter saw the boatcoming she lay to, and waited its arrival. A note was delivered to thecaptain of the Scarabaeus, in which it was stated that the Syndicate,which had undertaken on the part of the United States the conduct ofthe war between that country and Great Britain, was now prepared todemand the surrender of this city with its forts and defences and allvessels within its harbour, and, as a first step, the immediatesurrender of the vessel to the commander of which this note wasdelivered.
The overwhelming effrontery of this demand caused the commander of theScarabaeus to doubt whether he had to deal with a raving lunatic or ablustering fool; but he informed the person in charge of theflag-of-truce boat, that he would give him fifteen minutes in which toget back to his vessel, and that he would then open fire upon thatcraft.
The men who rowed the little boat were not men-of-war's men, and wereunaccustomed to duties of this kind. In eight minutes they had reachedtheir vessel, and were safe on board.
Just seven minutes afterward the first shot came from the Scarabaeus.It passed over Repeller No. 1, and that vessel, instead of replying,immediately steamed nearer her adversary. The Director-in-chiefdesired to determine the effect of an active cannonade upon the newarmour, and
therefore ordered the vessel placed in such a position thatthe Englishman might have the best opportunity for using it as a target.
The Scarabaeus lost no time in availing herself of the facilitiesoffered. She was a large and powerful ship, with a heavy armament;and, soon getting the range of the Syndicate's vessel, she hurled ballafter ball upon her striped side. Repeller No. 1 made no reply, butquietly submitted to the terrible bombardment. Some of the great shotjarred her from bow to stern, but not one of them broke a steel spring,nor penetrated the heavy inside plates.
After half an hour of this, work the Director-in-chief became satisfiedthat the new armour had well acquitted itself in the severe trial towhich it had been subjected. Some of the air-buffers had beendisabled, probably on account of faults in their construction, butthese could readily be replaced, and no further injury had been donethe vessel. It was not necessary, therefore, to continue theexperiment any longer, and besides, there was danger