and the people of England and Canada placed their greatest trust, but
in the incapacity of their petty foe to support its ridiculous
assumptions. The claim that the city lay under the guns of the
American Syndicate was considered ridiculous, for few people believed
that these vessels had any guns. Certainly, there had been no evidence
that any shots had been fired from them. In the opinion of reasonable
people the destruction of the forts and the explosions in the harbour
had been caused by mines--mines of a new and terrifying power--which
were the work of traitors and confederates. The destruction of the
lighthouse had strengthened this belief, for its fall was similar to
that which would have been occasioned by a great explosion under its
foundation.
But however terrifying and appalling had been the results of the
explosion of these mines, it was not thought probable that there were
any more of them. The explosions had taken place at exposed points
distant from the city, and the most careful investigation failed to
discover any present signs of mining operations.
This theory of mines worked by confederates was received throughout the
civilized world, and was universally condemned. Even in the United
States the feeling was so strong against this apparent alliance between
the Syndicate and British traitors, that there was reason to believe
that a popular pressure would be brought to bear upon the Government
sufficient to force it to break its contract with the Syndicate, and to
carry on the war with the National army and navy. The crab was
considered an admirable addition to the strength of the navy, but a
mine under a fort, laid and fired by perfidious confederates, was
considered unworthy an enlightened people.
The members of the Syndicate now found themselves in an embarrassing
and dangerous position--a position in which they were placed by the
universal incredulity regarding the instantaneous motor; and unless
they could make the world believe that they really used such a
motor-bomb, the war could not be prosecuted on the plan projected.
It was easy enough to convince the enemy of the terrible destruction
the Syndicate was able to effect; but to make that enemy and the world
understand that this was done by bombs, which could be used in one
place as well as another, was difficult indeed. They had attempted to
prove this by announcing that at a certain time a bomb should be
projected into a certain fort. Precisely at the specified time the
fort had been destroyed, but nobody believed that a bomb had been fired.
Every opinion, official or popular, concerning what it had done and
what might be expected of it, was promptly forwarded to the Syndicate
by its agents, and it was thus enabled to see very plainly indeed that
the effect it had desired to produce had not been produced. Unless the
enemy could be made to understand that any fort or ships within ten
miles of one of the Syndicate's cannon could be instantaneously
dissipated in the shape of fine dust, this war could not be carried on
upon the principles adopted, and therefore might as well pass out of
the hands of the Syndicate.
Day by day and night by night the state of affairs was anxiously
considered at the office of the Syndicate in New York. A new and
important undertaking was determined upon, and on the success of this
the hopes of the Syndicate now depended.
During the rapid and vigorous preparations which the Syndicate were now
making for their new venture, several events of interest occurred.
Two of the largest Atlantic mail steamers, carrying infantry and
artillery troops, and conveyed by two swift and powerful men-of-war,
arrived off the coast of Canada, considerably to the north of the
blockaded city. The departure and probable time of arrival of these
vessels had been telegraphed to the Syndicate, through one of the
continental cables, and a repeller with two crabs had been for some
days waiting for them. The English vessels had taken a high northern
course, hoping they might enter the Gulf of St. Lawrence without
subjecting themselves to injury from the enemy's crabs, it not being
considered probable that there were enough of these vessels to patrol
the entire coast. But although the crabs were few in number, the
Syndicate was able to place them where they would be of most use; and
when the English vessels arrived off the northern entrance to the gulf,
they found their enemies there.
However strong might be the incredulity of the enemy regarding the
powers of a repeller to bombard a city, the Syndicate felt sure there
would be no present invasion of the United States from Canada; but it
wished to convince the British Government that troops and munitions of
war could not be safely transported across the Atlantic. On the other
hand, the Syndicate very much objected to undertaking the imprisonment
and sustenance of a large body of soldiers. Orders were therefore
given to the officer in charge of the repeller not to molest the two
transports, but to remove the rudders and extract the screws of the two
war-vessels, leaving them to be towed into port by the troop-ships.
This duty was performed by the crabs, while the British vessels, both
rams, were preparing to make a united and vigorous onset on the
repeller, and the two men-of-war were left hopelessly tossing on the
waves. One of the transports, a very fast steamer, had already entered
the straits, and could not be signalled; but the other one returned and
took both the war-ships in tow, proceeding very slowly until, after
entering the gulf, she was relieved by tugboats.
Another event of a somewhat different character was the occasion of
much excited feeling and comment, particularly in the United States.
The descent and attack by British vessels on an Atlantic port was a
matter of popular expectation. The Syndicate had repellers and crabs
at the most important points; but, in the minds of naval officers and a
large portion of the people, little dependence for defence was to be
placed upon these. As to the ability of the War Syndicate to prevent
invasion or attack by means of its threats to bombard the blockaded
Canadian port, very few believed in it. Even if the Syndicate could do
any more damage in that quarter, which was improbable, what was to
prevent the British navy from playing the same game, and entering an
American seaport, threaten to bombard the place if the Syndicate did
not immediately run all their queer vessels high and dry on some
convenient beach?
A feeling of indignation against the Syndicate had existed in the navy
from the time that the war contract had been made, and this feeling
increased daily. That the officers and men of the United States navy
should be penned up in harbours, ports, and sounds, while British ships
and the hulking mine-springers and rudder-pinchers of the Syndicate
were allowed to roam the ocean at will, was a very hard thing for brave
sailors to bear. Sometimes the resentment against this state of
affairs rose almost to revolt.
The great naval preparations of England were not yet complete, but
single British men-of-war were now frequently seen off the Atlantic
coast of the United States. No American vessels had been captured by
these since the message of the Syndicate to the Dominion of Canada and
the British Government. But one good reason for this was the fact that
it was very difficult now to find upon the Atlantic ocean a vessel
sailing under the American flag. As far as possible these had taken
refuge in their own ports or in those of neutral countries.
At the mouth of Delaware Bay, behind the great Breakwater, was now
collected a number of coastwise sailing-vessels and steamers of various
classes and sizes; and for the protection of these maritime refugees,
two vessels of the United States navy were stationed at this point.
These were the Lenox and Stockbridge, two of the finest cruisers in the
service, and commanded by two of the most restless and bravest officers
of the American navy.
The appearance, early on a summer morning, of a large British cruiser
off the mouth of the harbour, filled those two commanders with
uncontrollable belligerency. That in time of war a vessel of the enemy
should be allowed, undisturbed, to sail up and down before an American
harbour, while an American vessel filled with brave American sailors
lay inside like a cowed dog, was a thought which goaded the soul of
each of these commanders. There was a certain rivalry between the two
ships; and, considering the insult offered by the flaunting red cross
in the offing, and the humiliating restrictions imposed by the Naval
Department, each commander thought only of his own ship, and not at all
of the other.
It was almost at the same time that the commanders of the two ships
separately came to the conclusion that the proper way to protect the
fleet behind the Breakwater was for his vessel to boldly steam out to
sea and attack the British cruiser. If this vessel carried a
long-range gun, what was to hinder her from suddenly running in closer
and sending a few shells into the midst of the defenceless merchantmen?
In fact, to go out and fight her was the only way to protect the lives
and property in the harbour.
It was true that one of those beastly repellers was sneaking about off
the cape, accompanied, probably, by an underwater tongs-boat. But as
neither of these had done anything, or seemed likely to do anything,
the British cruiser should be attacked without loss of time.
When the commander of the Lenox came to this decision, his ship was
well abreast of Cape Henlopen, and he therefore proceeded directly out
to sea. There was a little fear in his mind that the English cruiser,
which was now bearing to the south-east, might sail off and get away
from him. The Stockbridge was detained by the arrival of a despatch
boat from the shore with a message from the Naval Department. But as
this message related only to the measurements of a certain deck gun,
her commander intended, as soon as an answer could be sent off, to sail
out and give battle to the British vessel.
Every soul on board the Lenox was now filled with fiery ardour. The
ship was already in good fighting trim, but every possible preparation
was made for a contest which should show their country and the world
what American sailors were made of.
The Lenox had not proceeded more than a mile out to sea, when she
perceived Repeller No. 6 coming toward her from seaward, and in a
direction which indicated that it intended to run across her course.
The Lenox, however, went straight on, and in a short time the two
vessels were quite near each other. Upon the deck of the repeller now
appeared the director in charge, who, with a speaking-trumpet, hailed
the Lenox and requested her to lay to, as he had something to
communicate. The commander of the Lenox, through his trumpet, answered
that he wanted no communications, and advised the other vessel to keep
out of his way.
The Lenox now put on a greater head of steam, and as she was in any
case a much faster vessel than the repeller, she rapidly increased the
distance between herself and the Syndicate's vessel, so that in a few
moments hailing was impossible. Quick signals now shot up in jets of
black smoke from the repeller, and in a very short time afterward the
speed of the Lenox slackened so much that the repeller was able to come
up with her.
When the two vessels were abreast of each other, and at a safe hailing
distance apart, another signal went up from the repeller, and then both
vessels almost ceased to move through the water, although the engines
of the Lenox were working at high speed, with her propeller-blades
stirring up a whirlpool at her stern.
For a minute or two the officers of the Lenox could not comprehend what
had happened. It was first supposed that by mistake the engines had
been slackened, but almost at the same moment that it was found that
this was not the case, the discovery was made that the crab
accompanying the repeller had laid hold of the stern-post of the Lenox,
and with all the strength of her powerful engines was holding her back.
Now burst forth in the Lenox a storm of frenzied rage, such as was
never seen perhaps upon any vessel since vessels were first built.
From the commander to the stokers every heart was filled with fury at
the insult which was put upon them. The commander roared through his
trumpet that if that infernal sea-beetle were not immediately loosed
from his ship he would first sink her and then the repeller.
To these remarks the director of the Syndicate's vessels paid no
attention, but proceeded to state as briefly and forcibly as possible
that the Lenox had been detained in order that he might have an
opportunity of speaking with her commander, and of informing him that
his action in coming out of the harbour for the purpose of attacking a
British vessel was in direct violation of the contract between the
United States and the Syndicate having charge of the war, and that such
action could not be allowed.
The commander of the Lenox paid no more attention to these words than
the Syndicate's director had given to those he had spoken, but
immediately commenced a violent attack upon the crab. It was
impossible to bring any of the large guns to bear upon her, for she was
almost under the stern of the Lenox; but every means of offence which
infuriated ingenuity could suggest was used against it. Machine guns
were trained to fire almost perpendicularly, and shot after shot was
poured upon that portion of its glistening back which appeared above
the water.
But as these projectiles seemed to have no effect upon the solid back
of Crab H, two great anvils were hoisted at the end of the
spanker-boom, and dropped, one after the other, upon it. The shocks
were tremendous, but the internal construction of the crabs provided,
by means of upright beams, against injury from attacks of this kind,
and the great masses of iron slid off into the sea without doing any
damage.
Finding it impossible to make any impression upon the mailed monster at
his stern, the commander of the Lenox hailed the director of the
repeller, and swore to him through his trumpet that if he did not
immediately order the Lenox to be set free, her heaviest guns should be
brought to bear upon his floating counting-house, and that it should be
sunk, if it took all day to do it.
It would have been a grim satisfaction to the commander of the Lenox to
sink Repeller No. 6, for he knew the vessel when she had belonged to
the United States navy. Before she had been bought by the Syndicate,
and fitted out with spring armour, he had made two long cruises in her,
and he bitterly hated her, from her keel up.
The director of the repeller agreed to release the Lenox the instant
her commander would consent to return to port. No answer was made to
this proposition, but a dynamite gun on the Lenox was brought to bear
upon the Syndicate's vessel. Desiring to avoid any complications which
might ensue from actions of this sort, the repeller steamed ahead,
while the director signalled Crab H to move the stern of the Lenox to
the windward, which, being quickly done, the gun of the latter bore
upon the distant coast.
It was now very plain to the Syndicate director that his words could
have no effect upon the commander of the Lenox, and he therefore
signalled Crab H to tow the United States vessel into port. When the
commander of the Lenox saw that his vessel was beginning to move
backward, he gave instant orders to put on all steam. But this was
found to be useless, for when the dynamite gun was about to be fired,
the engines had been ordered stopped, and the moment that the
propeller-blades ceased moving the nippers of the crab had been
released from their hold upon the stern-post, and the propeller-blades
of the Lenox were gently but firmly seized in a grasp which included
the rudder. It was therefore impossible for the engines of the vessel
to revolve the propeller, and, unresistingly, the Lenox was towed,
stern foremost, to the Breakwater.
The news of this incident created the wildest indignation in the United
States navy, and throughout the country the condemnation of what was
considered the insulting action of the Syndicate was general. In
foreign countries the affair was the subject of a good deal of comment,
but it was also the occasion of much serious consideration, for it
proved that one of the Syndicate's submerged vessels could, without
firing a gun, and without fear of injury to itself, capture a
man-of-war and tow it whither it pleased.
The authorities at Washington took instant action on the affair, and as
it was quite evident that the contract between the United States and
the Syndicate had been violated by the Lenox, the commander of that
vessel was reprimanded by the Secretary of the Navy, and enjoined that
there should be no repetitions of his offence. But as the commander of
the Lenox knew that the Secretary of the Navy was as angry as he was at
what had happened, he did not feel his reprimand to be in any way a
disgrace.
It may be stated that the Stockbridge, which had steamed for the open
sea as soon as the business which had detained her was completed, did
not go outside the Cape. When her officers perceived with their
glasses that the Lenox was returning to port stern foremost, they
opined what had happened, and desiring that their ship should do all
her sailing in the natural way, the Stockbridge was put about and
steamed, bow foremost, to her anchorage behind the Breakwater, the
commander thanking his stars that for once the Lenox had got ahead of
him.
The members of the Syndicate were very anxious to remove the
unfavorable impression regarding what was called in many quarters their
attack upon a United States vessel, and a circular to the public was
issued, in which they expressed their deep regret at being obliged to
interfere with so many brave officers and men in a moment of patriotic
enthusiasm, and explaining how absolutely necessary it was that the
Lenox should be removed from a position where a conflict with English
line-of-battle ships would be probable. There were many thinking
persons who saw the weight of the Syndicate's statements, but the
effect of the circular upon the popular mind was not great.
The Syndicate was now hard at work making preparations for the grand
stroke which had been determined upon. In the whole country there was
scarcely a man whose ability could be made available in their work, who
was not engaged in their service; and everywhere, in foundries,
workshops, and shipyards, the construction of their engines of war was
being carried on by day and by night. No contracts were made for the
delivery of work at certain times; everything was done under the direct
supervision of the Syndicate and its subordinates, and the work went on
with a definiteness and rapidity hitherto unknown in naval construction.
In the midst of the Syndicate's labours there arrived off the coast of
Canada the first result of Great Britain's preparations for her war
with the American Syndicate, in the shape of the Adamant, the largest
and finest ironclad which had ever crossed the Atlantic, and which had
been sent to raise the blockade of the Canadian port by the Syndicate's
vessels.
This great ship had been especially fitted out to engage in combat with
repellers and crabs. As far as was possible the peculiar construction
of the Syndicate's vessels had been carefully studied, and English
specialists in the line of naval construction and ordnance had given
most earnest consideration to methods of attack and defence most likely
to succeed with these novel ships of war. The Adamant was the only
vessel which it had been possible to send out in so short a time, and
her cruise was somewhat of an experiment. If she should be successful
in raising the blockade of the Canadian port, the British Admiralty
would have but little difficulty in dealing with the American Syndicate.
The most important object was to provide a defence against the
screw-extracting and rudder-breaking crabs; and to this end the Adamant
had been fitted with what was termed a "stern-jacket." This was a
great cage of heavy steel bars, which was attached to the stern of the
vessel in such a way that it could be raised high above the water, so
as to offer no impediment while under way, and which, in time of
action, could be let down so as to surround and protect the rudder and
screw-propellers, of which the Adamant had two.
This was considered an adequate defence against the nippers of a
Syndicate crab; but as a means of offence against these almost
submerged vessels a novel contrivance had been adopted. From a great
boom projecting over the stern, a large ship's cannon was suspended
perpendicularly, muzzle downward. This gun could be swung around to
the deck, hoisted into a horizontal position, loaded with a heavy
charge, a wooden plug keeping the load in position when the gun hung
perpendicularly.
If the crab should come under the stern, this cannon could be fired
directly downward upon her back, and it was not believed that any
vessel of the kind could stand many such tremendous shocks. It was not
known exactly how ventilation was supplied to the submarine vessels of
the Syndicate, nor how the occupants were enabled to make the necessary
observations during action. When under way the crabs sailed somewhat
elevated above the water, but when engaged with an enemy only a small
portion of their covering armour could be seen.
It was surmised that under and between some of the scales of this
armour there was some arrangement of thick glasses, through which the
necessary observation could be made; and it was believed that, even if
the heavy perpendicular shots did not crush in the roof of a crab,
these glasses would be shattered by concussion. Although this might
appear a matter of slight importance, it was thought among naval
officers it would necessitate the withdrawal of a crab from action.
In consequence of the idea that the crabs were vulnerable between their
overlapping plates, some of the Adamant's boats were fitted out with
Gatling and machine guns, by which a shower of balls might be sent
under the scales, through the glasses, and into the body of the crab.
In addition to their guns, these boats would be supplied with other
means of attack upon the crab.
Of course it would be impossible to destroy these submerged enemies by
means of dynamite or torpedoes; for with two vessels in close
proximity, the explosion of a torpedo would be as dangerous to the hull
of one as to the other. The British Admiralty would not allow even the
Adamant to explode torpedoes or dynamite under her own stern.
With regard to a repeller, or spring-armoured vessel, the Adamant would
rely upon her exceptionally powerful armament, and upon her great
weight and speed. She was fitted with twin screws and engines of the
highest power, and it was believed that she would be able to overhaul,
ram, and crush the largest vessel armoured or unarmoured which the
Syndicate would be able to bring against her. Some of her guns were of
immense calibre, firing shot weighing nearly two thousand pounds, and
requiring half a ton of powder for each charge. Besides these she
carried an unusually large number of large cannon and two dynamite
guns. She was so heavily plated and armoured as to be proof against
any known artillery in the world.
She was a floating fortress, with men enough to make up the population
of a town, and with stores, ammunition, and coal sufficient to last for
a long term of active service. Such was the mighty English battleship
which had come forward to raise the siege of the Canadian port.
The officers of the Syndicate were well aware of the character of the
Adamant, her armament and her defences, and had been informed by cable
of her time of sailing and probable destination. They sent out
Repeller No. 7, with Crabs J and K, to meet her off the Banks of
Newfoundland.
This repeller was the largest and strongest vessel that the Syndicate
had ready for service. In addition to the spring armour with which
these vessels were supplied, this one was furnished with a second coat
of armour outside the first, the elastic steel ribs of which ran
longitudinally and at right angles to those of the inner set. Both
coats were furnished with a great number of improved air-buffers, and
the arrangement of spring armour extended five or six feet beyond the
massive steel plates with which the vessel was originally armoured.
She carried one motor-cannon of large size.