第7章 THE GREAT WAR SYNDICATE(7)

Then followed a sudden twist, which sent a thrill through both vessels; a crash; a backward jerk; the snapping of a chain; and in a moment the great rudder, with half of the rudder-post attached, was torn from the vessel, and as the forceps opened it dropped to leeward and hung danglingby one chain.Again the forceps opened wide; again there was a rush; and this time the huge jaws closed upon the rapidly revolving screw-propeller.There was a tremendous crash, and the small but massive crab turned over so far that for an instant one of its sides was plainly visible above the water.The blades of the propeller were crushed and shivered; those parts of the steamer's engines connecting with the propeller-shaft were snapped and rent apart, while the propeller- shaft itself was broken by the violent stoppage.The crab, which had quickly righted, now backed, still holding the crushed propeller in its iron grasp, and as it moved away from the Scarabaeus, it extracted about forty feet of its propeller-shaft; then, opening its massive jaws, it allowed the useless mass of iron to drop to the bottom of the sea.Every man on board the Scarabaeus was wild with amazement and excitement.Few could comprehend what had happened, but this very quickly became evident.So far as motive power was concerned, the Scarabaeus was totally, disabled.She could not direct her course, for her rudder was gone, her propeller was gone, her engines were useless, and she could do no more than float as wind or tide might move her.Moreover, there was a jagged hole in her stern where the shaft had been, and through this the water was pouring into the vessel.As a man-of- war the Scarabaeus was worthless.Orders now came fast from Repeller No.1, which had moved nearer to the scene of conflict.It was to be supposed that the disabled ship was properly furnished with bulk-heads, so that the water would penetrate no farther than the stern compartment, and that, therefore, she was in no danger of sinking.Crab A was ordered to make fast to the bow of the Scarabaeus, and tow her toward two men-of- war who were rapidly approaching from the harbour.This proceeding astonished the commander and officers of the Scarabaeus almost as much as the extraordinary attack which had been made upon their ship.They had expected a demand to surrender and haul down their flag; but the Director-in-chief on board Repeller No.1 was of the opinion that with her propeller extracted it mattered little what flag she flew.His work with the Scarabaeus was over; for it had been ordered by the Syndicate that its vessels should not encumber themselves with prizes.Towed by the powerful crab, which apparently had no fear that its disabled adversarymight fire upon it, the Scarabaeus moved toward the harbour, and when it had come within a quarter of a mile of the foremost British vessel, Crab A cast off and steamed back to Repeller No.1.The other English vessels soon came up, and each lay to and sent a boat to the Scarabaeus.After half an hour's consultation, in which the amazement of those on board the damaged vessel was communicated to the officers and crews of her two consorts, it was determined that the smaller of these should tow the disabled ship into port, while the other one, in company with a man-of-war just coming out of the harbour, should make an attack upon Repeller No.1.It had been plainly proved that ordinary shot and shell had no effect upon this craft; but it had not been proved that she could withstand the rams of powerful ironclads.If this vessel, that apparently carried no guns, or, at least, had used none, could be crushed, capsized, sunk, or in any way put out of the fight, it was probable that the dangerous submerged nautical machine would not care to remain in these waters.If it remained it must be destroyed by torpedoes.Signals were exchanged between the two English vessels, and in a very short time they were steaming toward the repeller.It was a dangerous thing for two vessels of their size to come close enough together for both to ram an enemy at the same time, but it was determined to take the risks and do this, if possible; for the destruction of the repeller was obviously the first duty in hand.As the two men-of-war rapidly approached Repeller No.1, they kept up a steady fire upon her; for if in this way they could damage her, the easier would be their task.With a firm reliance upon the efficacy of the steel-spring armour, the Director-in-chief felt no fear of the enemy's shot and shell; but he was not at all willing that his vessel should be rammed, for the consequences would probably be disastrous.Accordingly he did not wait for the approach of the two vessels, but steering seaward, he signalled for the other crab.When Crab B made its appearance, puffing its little black jets of smoke, as it answered the signals of the Director-in-chief, the commanders of the two British vessels were surprised.They had imagined that there was only one of these strange and terrible enemies, and had supposed that she would be afraid to make her peculiar attack upon one of them, because while doing so she would expose herself to the danger of being run down by the other.But thepresence of two of these almost submerged engines of destruction entirely changed the situation.But the commanders of the British ships were brave men.They had started to run down the strangely armoured American craft, and run her down they would, if they could.They put on more steam, and went ahead at greater speed.In such a furious onslaught the crabs might not dare to attack them.But they did not understand the nature nor the powers of these enemies.In less than twenty minutes Crab A had laid hold of one of the men-of-war, and Crab B of the other.The rudders of both were shattered and torn away; and while the blades of one propeller were crushed to pieces, the other, with nearly half its shaft, was drawn out and dropped into the ocean.Helplessly the two men-of-war rose and fell upon the waves.In obedience to orders from the repeller, each crab took hold of one of the disabled vessels, and towed it near the mouth of the harbour, where it was left.The city was now in a state of feverish excitement, which was intensified by the fact that a majority of the people did not understand what had happened, while those to whom this had been made plain could not comprehend why such a thing should have been allowed to happen.Three of Her Majesty's ships of war, equipped and ready for action, had sailed out of the harbour, and an apparently insignificant enemy, without firing a gun, had put them into such a condition that they were utterly unfit for service, and must be towed into a dry dock.How could the Government, the municipality, the army, or the navy explain this? The anxiety, the excitement, the nervous desire to know what had happened, and what might be expected next, spread that evening to every part of the Dominion reached by telegraph.The military authorities in charge of the defences of the city were as much disturbed and amazed by what had happened as any civilian could possibly be, but they had no fears for the safety of the place, for the enemy's vessels could not possibly enter, nor even approach, the harbour.The fortifications on the heights mounted guns much heavier than those on the men-of-war, and shots from these fired from an elevation might sink even those "underwater devils." But, more than on the forts, they relied upon their admirable system of torpedoes and submarine batteries.With these in position and ready for action, as they now were, it was impossible for an enemy's vessel, floatingon the water or under it, to enter the harbour without certain destruction.Bulletins to this effect were posted in the city, and somewhat allayed the popular anxiety, although many people, who were fearful of what might happen next, left by the evening trains for the interior.That night the news of this extraordinary affair was cabled to Europe, and thence back to the United States, and all over the world.In many quarters the account was disbelieved, and in no quarter was it thoroughly understood, for it must be borne in mind that the methods of operation employed by the crabs were not evident to those on board the disabled vessels.But everywhere there was the greatest desire to know what would be done next.It was the general opinion that the two armoured vessels were merely tenders to the submerged machines which had done the mischief.Having fired no guns, nor taken any active part in the combat, there was every reason to believe that they were intended merely as bomb-proof store-ships for their formidable consorts.As these submerged vessels could not attack a town, nor reduce fortifications, but could exercise their power only against vessels afloat, it was plain enough to see that the object of the American Syndicate was to blockade the port.That they would be able to maintain the blockade when the full power of the British navy should be brought to bear upon them was generally doubted, though it was conceded in the most wrathful circles that, until the situation should be altered, it would be unwise to risk valuable war vessels in encounters with the diabolical sea- monsters now lying off the port.In the New York office of the Syndicate there was great satisfaction.The news received was incorrect and imperfect, but it was evident that, so far, everything had gone well.About nine o'clock the next morning, Repeller No.1, with her consort half a mile astern, and preceded by the two crabs, one on either bow, approached to within two miles of the harbour mouth.The crabs, a quarter of a mile ahead of the repeller, moved slowly; for between them they bore an immense net, three or four hundred feet long, and thirty feet deep, composed of jointed steel rods.Along the upper edge of this net was a series of air-floats, which were so graduated that they were sunk by the weight of the net a few feet below the surface of the water, from which position they held the net suspended vertically.