and early the next morning it appeared about twenty miles to the south
of the Isle of Wight, and headed to the north-east, as if it were
making for Portsmouth. The course of these vessels greatly surprised
the English Government and naval authorities. It was expected that an
attack would probably be made upon some comparatively unprotected spot
on the British seaboard, and therefore on the west coast of Ireland and
in St. George's Channel preparations of the most formidable character
had been made to defend British ports against Repeller No. 11 and her
attendant crabs. Particularly was this the case in Bristol Channel,
where a large number of ironclads were stationed, and which was to have
been the destination of the Llangaron if the Syndicate's vessels had
delayed their coming long enough to allow her to get around there.
That this little fleet should have sailed straight for England's great
naval stronghold was something that the British Admiralty could not
understand. The fact was not appreciated that it was the object of the
Syndicate to measure its strength with the greatest strength of the
enemy. Anything less than this would not avail its purpose.
Notwithstanding that so many vessels had been sent to different parts
of the coast, there was still in Portsmouth harbour a large number of
war vessels of various classes, all in commission and ready for action.
The greater part of these had received orders to cruise that day in the
channel. Consequently, it was still early in the morning when, around
the eastern end of the Isle of Wight, there appeared a British fleet
composed of fifteen of the finest ironclads, with several gunboats and
cruisers, and a number of torpedo-boats.
It was a noble sight, for besides the warships there was another fleet
hanging upon the outskirts of the first, and composed of craft, large
and small, and from both sides of the channel, filled with those who
were anxious to witness from afar the sea-fight which was to take place
under such novel conditions. Many of these observers were reporters
and special correspondents for great newspapers. On some of the
vessels which came up from the French coast were men with marine
glasses of extraordinary power, whose business it was to send an early
and accurate report of the affair to the office of the War Syndicate in
New York.
As soon as the British ships came in sight, the four crabs cast off
from Repeller No. 11. Then with the other two they prepared for
action, moving considerably in advance of the repeller, which now
steamed forward very slowly. The wind was strong from the north-west,
and the sea high, the shining tops of the crabs frequently disappearing
under the waves.
The British fleet came steadily on, headed by the great Llangaron.
This vessel was very much in advance of the others, for knowing that
when she was really in action and the great cylinder which formed her
stern-guard was lowered into the water her speed would be much
retarded, she had put on all steam, and being the swiftest war-ship of
her class, she had distanced all her consorts. It was highly important
that she should begin the fight, and engage the attention of as many
crabs as possible, while certain of the other ships attacked the
repeller with their rams. Although it was now generally believed that
motor-bombs from a repeller might destroy a man-of-war, it was also
considered probable that the accurate calculations which appeared to be
necessary to precision of aim could not be made when the object of the
aim was in rapid motion.
But whether or not one or more motor-bombs did strike the mark, or
whether or not one or more vessels were blown into fine particles,
there were a dozen ironclads in that fleet, each of whose commanders
and officers were determined to run into that repeller and crush her,
if so be they held together long enough to reach her.
The commanders of the torpedo-boats had orders to direct their swift
messengers of destruction first against the crabs, for these vessels
were far in advance of the repeller, and coming on with a rapidity
which showed that they were determined upon mischief. If a torpedo,
shot from a torpedo-boat, and speeding swiftly by its own powers
beneath the waves, should strike the submerged hull of a crab, there
would be one crab the less in the English Channel.
As has been said, the Llangaron came rushing on, distancing everything,
even the torpedo-boats. If, before she was obliged to lower her
cylinder, she could get near enough to the almost stationary repeller
to take part in the attack on her, she would then be content to slacken
speed and let the crabs nibble awhile at her stern.
Two of the latest constructed and largest crabs, Q and R, headed at
full speed to meet the Llangaron, who, as she came on, opened the ball
by sending a "rattler" in the shape of a five-hundred-pound shot into
the ribs of the repeller, then at least four miles distant, and
immediately after began firing her dynamite guns, which were of limited
range at the roofs of the advancing crabs.
There were some on board the repeller who, at the moment the great shot
struck her, with a ringing and clangour of steel springs, such as never
was heard before, wished that in her former state of existence she had
been some other vessel than the Tallapoosa.
But every spring sprang back to its place as the great mass of iron
glanced off into the sea. The dynamite bombs flew over the tops of the
crabs, whose rapid motions and slightly exposed surfaces gave little
chance for accurate aim, and in a short time they were too close to the
Llangaron for this class of gun to be used upon them.
As the crabs came nearer, the Llangaron lowered the great steel
cylinder which hung across her stern, until it lay almost entirely
under water, and abaft of her rudder and propeller-blades. She now
moved slowly through the water, and her men greeted the advancing crabs
with yells of defiance, and a shower of shot from machine guns.
The character of the new defence which had been fitted to the Llangaron
was known to the Syndicate, and the directors of the two new crabs
understood the heavy piece of work which lay before them. But their
plans of action had been well considered, and they made straight for
the stern of the British ship.
It was, of course, impossible to endeavour to grasp that great cylinder
with its rounded ends; their forceps would slip from any portion of its
smooth surface on which they should endeavour to lay hold, and no such
attempt was made. Keeping near the cylinder, one at each end of it,
the two moved slowly after the Llangaron, apparently discouraged.
In a short time, however, it was perceived by those on board the ship
that a change had taken place in the appearance of the crabs; the
visible portion of their backs was growing larger and larger; they were
rising in the water. Their mailed roofs became visible from end to
end, and the crowd of observers looking down from the ship were amazed
to see what large vessels they were.
Higher and higher the crabs arose, their powerful air-pumps working at
their greatest capacity, until their ponderous pincers became visible
above the water. Then into the minds of the officers of the Llangaron
flashed the true object of this uprising, which to the crew had seemed
an intention on the part of the sea-devils to clamber on board.
If the cylinder were left in its present position the crab might seize
the chains by which it was suspended, while if it were raised it would
cease to be a defence. Notwithstanding this latter contingency, the
order was quickly given to raise the cylinder; but before the hoisting
engine had been set in motion, Crab Q thrust forward her forceps over
the top of the cylinder and held it down. Another thrust, and the iron
jaws had grasped one of the two ponderous chains by which the cylinder
was suspended.
The other end of the cylinder began to rise, but at this moment Crab R,
apparently by a single effort, lifted herself a foot higher out of the
sea; her pincers flashed forward, and the other chain was grasped.
The two crabs were now placed in the most extraordinary position. The
overhang of their roofs prevented an attack on their hulls by the
Llangaron, but their unmailed hulls were so greatly exposed that a few
shot from another ship could easily have destroyed them. But as any
ship firing at them would be very likely to hit the Llangaron, their
directors felt safe on this point.
Three of the foremost ironclads, less than two miles away, were heading
directly for them, and their rams might be used with but little danger
to the Llangaron; but, on the other hand, three swift crabs were
heading directly for these ironclads.
It was impossible for Crabs Q and R to operate in the usual way. Their
massive forceps, lying flat against the top of the cylinder, could not
be twisted. The enormous chains they held could not be severed by the
greatest pressure, and if both crabs backed at once they would probably
do no more than tow the Llangaron stern foremost. There was, moreover,
no time to waste in experiments, for other rams would be coming on, and
there were not crabs enough to attend to them all.
No time was wasted. Q signalled to R, and R back again, and instantly
the two crabs, each still grasping a chain of the cylinder, began to
sink. On board the Llangaron an order was shouted to let out the
cylinder chains; but as these chains had only been made long enough to
allow the top of the cylinder to hang at or a little below the surface
of the water, a foot or two of length was all that could be gained.
The davits from which the cylinder hung were thick and strong, and the
iron windlasses to which the chains were attached were large and
ponderous; but these were not strong enough to withstand the weight of
two crabs with steel-armoured roofs, enormous engines, and iron hull.
In less than a minute one davit snapped like a pipe-stem under the
tremendous strain, and immediately afterward the windlass to which the
chain was attached was torn from its bolts, and went crashing
overboard, tearing away a portion of the stern-rail in its descent.
Crab Q instantly released the chain it had held, and in a moment the
great cylinder hung almost perpendicularly from one chain. But only
for a moment. The nippers of Crab R still firmly held the chain, and
the tremendous leverage exerted by the falling of one end of the
cylinder wrenched it from the rigidly held end of its chain, and, in a
flash, the enormous stern-guard of the Llangaron sunk, end foremost, to
the bottom of the channel.
In ten minutes afterward, the Llangaron, rudderless, and with the
blades of her propellers shivered and crushed, was slowly turning her
starboard to the wind and the sea, and beginning to roll like a log of
eight thousand tons.
Besides the Llangaron, three ironclads were now drifting broadside to
the sea. But there was no time to succour disabled vessels, for the
rest of the fleet was coming on, and there was great work for the crabs.
Against these enemies, swift of motion and sudden in action, the
torpedo-boats found it almost impossible to operate, for the British
ships and the crabs were so rapidly nearing each other that a torpedo
sent out against an enemy was more than likely to run against the hull
of a friend. Each crab sped at the top of its speed for a ship, not
only to attack, but also to protect itself.
Once only did the crabs give the torpedo-boats a chance. A mile or two
north of the scene of action, a large cruiser was making her way
rapidly toward the repeller, which was still lying almost motionless,
four miles to the westward. As it was highly probable that this vessel
carried dynamite guns, Crab Q, which was the fastest of her class, was
signalled to go after her. She had scarcely begun her course across
the open space of sea before a torpedo-boat was in pursuit. Fast as
was the latter, the crab was faster, and quite as easily managed. She
was in a position of great danger, and her only safety lay in keeping
herself on a line between the torpedo-boat and the gun-boat, and to
shorten as quickly as possible the distance between herself and that
vessel.
If the torpedo-boat shot to one side in order to get the crab out of
line, the crab, its back sometimes hidden by the tossing waves, sped
also to the same side. When the torpedo-boat could aim a gun at the
crab and not at the gun-boat, a deadly torpedo flew into the sea; but a
tossing sea and a shifting target were unfavourable to the gunner's
aim. It was not long, however, before the crab had run the chase which
might so readily have been fatal to it, and was so near the gun-boat
that no more torpedoes could be fired at it.
Of course the officers and crew of the gun-boat had watched with most
anxious interest the chase of the crab. The vessel was one which had
been fitted out for service with dynamite guns, of which she carried
some of very long range for this class of artillery, and she had been
ordered to get astern of the repeller and to do her best to put a few
dynamite bombs on board of her.
The dynamite gun-boat therefore had kept ahead at full speed,
determined to carry out her instructions if she should be allowed to do
so; but her speed was not as great as that of a crab, and when the
torpedo-boat had given up the chase, and the dreaded crab was drawing
swiftly near, the captain thought it time for bravery to give place to
prudence. With the large amount of explosive material of the most
tremendous and terrific character which he had on board, it would be
the insanity of courage for him to allow his comparatively small vessel
to be racked, shaken, and partially shivered by the powerful jaws of
the on-coming foe. As he could neither fly nor fight, he hauled down
his flag in token of surrender, the first instance of the kind which
had occurred in this war.
When the director of Crab Q, through his lookout-glass, beheld this
action on the part of the gun-boat, he was a little perplexed as to
what he should next do. To accept the surrender of the British vessel,
and to assume control of her, it was necessary to communicate with her.
The communications of the crabs were made entirely by black-smoke
signals, and these the captain of the gun-boat could not understand.
The heavy hatches in the mailed roof which could be put in use when the
crab was cruising, could not be opened when she was at her fighting
depth, and in a tossing sea.
A means was soon devised of communicating with the gun-boat. A
speaking-tube was run up through one of the air-pipes of the crab,
which pipe was then elevated some distance above the surface. Through
this the director hailed the other vessel, and as the air-pipe was near
the stern of the crab, and therefore at a distance from the only
visible portion of the turtle-back roof, his voice seemed to come out
of the depths of the ocean.
The surrender was accepted, and the captain of the gun-boat was ordered
to stop his engines and prepare to be towed. When this order had been
given, the crab moved round to the bow of the gun-boat, and grasping
the cut-water with its forceps, reversed its engines and began to back
rapidly toward the British fleet, taking with it the captured vessel as
a protection against torpedoes while in transit.
The crab slowed up not far from one of the foremost of the British
ships, and coming round to the quarter of the gun-boat, the astonished
captain of that vessel was informed, through the speaking-tube, that if
he would give his parole to keep out of this fight, he would be allowed
to proceed to his anchorage in Portsmouth harbour. The parole was
given, and the dynamite gun-boat, after reporting to the flag-ship,
steamed away to Portsmouth.
The situation now became one which was unparalleled in the history of
naval warfare. On the side of the British, seven war-ships were
disabled and drifting slowly to the south-east. For half an hour no
advance had been made by the British fleet, for whenever one of the
large vessels had steamed ahead, such vessel had become the victim of a
crab, and the Vice-Admiral commanding the fleet had signalled not to
advance until farther orders.
The crabs were also lying-to, each to the windward of, and not far
from, one of the British ships. They had ceased to make any attacks,
and were resting quietly under protection of the enemy. This, with the
fact that the repeller still lay four miles away, without any apparent
intention of taking part in the battle, gave the situation its peculiar
character.
The British Vice-Admiral did not intend to remain in this quiescent
condition. It was, of course, useless to order forth his ironclads,
simply to see them disabled and set adrift. There was another arm of
the service which evidently could be used with better effect upon this
peculiar foe than could the great battle-ships.
But before doing anything else, he must provide for the safety of those
of his vessels which had been rendered helpless by the crabs, and some
of which were now drifting dangerously near to each other. Despatches
had been sent to Portsmouth for tugs, but it would not do to wait until
these arrived, and a sufficient number of ironclads were detailed to
tow their injured consorts into port.
When this order had been given, the Vice-Admiral immediately prepared
to renew the fight, and this time his efforts were to be directed
entirely against the repeller. It would be useless to devote any
further attention to the crabs, especially in their present positions.
But if the chief vessel of the Syndicate's fleet, with its spring
armour and its terrible earthquake bombs, could be destroyed, it was
quite possible that those sea-parasites, the crabs, could also be
disposed of.
Every torpedo-boat was now ordered to the front, and in a long line,
almost abreast of each other, these swift vessels--the light-infantry
of the sea--advanced upon the solitary and distant foe. If one torpedo
could but reach her hull, the Vice-Admiral, in spite of seven disabled
ironclads and a captured gun-boat, might yet gaze proudly at his
floating flag, even if his own ship should be drifting broadside to the
sea.
The line of torpedo-boats, slightly curving inward, had advanced about
a mile, when Repeller No. 11 awoke from her seeming sleep, and began to
act. The two great guns at her bow were trained upward, so that a bomb
discharged from them would fall into the sea a mile and a half ahead.
Slowly turning her bow from side to side, so that the guns would cover
a range of nearly half a circle, the instantaneous motor-bombs of the
repeller were discharged, one every half minute.
One of the most appalling characteristics of the motor-bombs was the
silence which accompanied their discharge and action. No noise was
heard, except the flash of sound occasioned by the removal of the
particles of the object aimed at, and the subsequent roar of wind or
fall of water.
As each motor-bomb dropped into the channel, a dense cloud appeared
high in the air, above a roaring, seething cauldron, hollowed out of
the waters and out of the very bottom of the channel. Into this chasm
the cloud quickly came down, condensed into a vast body of water, which
fell, with the roar of a cyclone, into the dreadful abyss from which it
had been torn, before the hissing walls of the great hollow had half
filled it with their sweeping surges. The piled-up mass of the
redundant water was still sending its maddened billows tossing and
writhing in every direction toward their normal level, when another
bomb was discharged; another surging abyss appeared, another roar of
wind and water was heard, and another mountain of furious billows
uplifted itself in a storm of spray and foam, raging that it had found
its place usurped.
Slowly turning, the repeller discharged bomb after bomb, building up
out of the very sea itself a barrier against its enemies. Under these
thundering cataracts, born in an instant, and coming down all at once
in a plunging storm; into these abysses, with walls of water and floors
of cleft and shivered rocks; through this wide belt of raging turmoil,
thrown into new frenzy after the discharge of every bomb,--no vessel,
no torpedo, could pass.
The air driven off in every direction by tremendous and successive
concussions came rushing back in shrieking gales, which tore up the
waves into blinding foam. For miles in every direction the sea swelled
and upheaved into great peaked waves, the repeller rising upon these
almost high enough to look down into the awful chasms which her bombs
were making. A torpedo-boat caught in one of the returning gales was
hurled forward almost on her beam ends until she was under the edge of
one of the vast masses of descending water. The flood which, from even
the outer limits of this falling-sea, poured upon and into the unlucky
vessel nearly swamped her, and when she was swept back by the rushing
waves into less stormy waters, her officers and crew leaped into their
boats and deserted her. By rare good-fortune their boats were kept
afloat in the turbulent sea until they reached the nearest
torpedo-vessel.
Five minutes afterward a small but carefully aimed motor-bomb struck
the nearly swamped vessel, and with the roar of all her own torpedoes
she passed into nothing.
The British Vice-Admiral had carefully watched the repeller through his
glass, and he noticed that simultaneously with the appearance of the
cloud in the air produced by the action of the motor-bombs there were
two puffs of black smoke from the repeller. These were signals to the
crabs to notify them that a motor-gun had been discharged, and thus to
provide against accidents in case a bomb should fail to act. One puff
signified that a bomb had been discharged to the north; two, that it
had gone eastward; and so on. If, therefore, a crab should see a
signal of this kind, and perceive no signs of the action of a bomb, it
would be careful not to approach the repeller from the quarter
indicated. It is true that in case of the failure of a bomb to act,
another bomb would be dropped upon the same spot, but the instructions
of the War Syndicate provided that every possible precaution should be
taken against accidents.
Of course the Vice-Admiral did not understand these signals, nor did he
know that they were signals, but he knew that they accompanied the
discharge of a motor-gun. Once he noticed that there was a short
cessation in the hitherto constant succession of water avalanches, and
during this lull he had seen two puffs from the repeller, and the
destruction, at the same moment, of the deserted torpedo-boat. It was,
therefore, plain enough to him that if a motor-bomb could be placed so
accurately upon one torpedo-boat, and with such terrible result, other
bombs could quite as easily be discharged upon the other torpedo-boats
which formed the advanced line of the fleet. When the barrier of storm
and cataract again began to stretch itself in front of the repeller, he
knew that not only was it impossible for the torpedo-boats to send
their missives through this raging turmoil, but that each of these
vessels was itself in danger of instantaneous destruction.
Unwilling, therefore, to expose his vessels to profitless danger, the
Vice-Admiral ordered the torpedo-boats to retire from the front, and
the whole line of them proceeded to a point north of the fleet, where
they lay to.
When this had been done, the repeller ceased the discharge of bombs;
but the sea was still heaving and tossing after the storm, when a
despatch-boat brought orders from the British Admiralty to the
flagship. Communication between the British fleet and the shore, and
consequently London, had been constant, and all that had occurred had
been quickly made known to the Admiralty and the Government. The
orders now received by the Vice-Admiral were to the effect that it was
considered judicious to discontinue the conflict for the day, and that
he and his whole fleet should return to Portsmouth to receive further
orders.
In issuing these commands the British Government was actuated simply by
motives of humanity and common sense. The British fleet was thoroughly
prepared for ordinary naval warfare, but an enemy had inaugurated
another kind of naval warfare, for which it was not prepared. It was,
therefore, decided to withdraw the ships until they should be prepared
for the new kind of warfare. To allow ironclad after ironclad to be
disabled and set adrift, to subject every ship in the fleet to the
danger of instantaneous destruction, and all this without the
possibility of inflicting injury upon the enemy, would not be bravery;
it would be stupidity. It was surely possible to devise a means for
destroying the seven hostile ships now in British waters. Until action
for this end could be taken, it was the part of wisdom for the British
navy to confine itself to the protection of British ports.