Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-12-27


frontier. A general movement was tax
! ing them gradually towards the Syrtic
coast. An exchange of messages was go
| ing on between the different zaouiyas Of
northern Africa. Arms from foreign parts
had been delivered to and received BY the
! brotherhood. And a concentration was
evidently taking place in the vilayet ut
Ben Ghazi, and consequently close to An
tekirtta.
In preparation for the danger which
seemed imminent, the doctor took all
possible precautions. During the last
three weeks OF October, Pierre and Luigi
were busy helping him, and the whole of
the colonists placed their services at his
disposal. Several times Point Pescade
was secretly dispatched to the coast, and
returned with the news that the danger
was not imaginary. The pirates of Ben
CHAR had been reinforced by quite mo-
bilization Ofthe confederates in the prov
1nce, and were preparing an expedition of
which Antekirtta was the objective. Was
it to take place soon? That could not We
be discovered. In any case TIE chiefs OF
the Senousists were still in the southern
Vilayets, and it was not likely that
any enterprise would be undertaken
without their being present to direct II.
The result of this was that the Electrics
were ordered to cruise in the Syrtic sea
ard reconnoitre the coast OF Cyrenaic
and Tripol, and that of Tunis up to Cape
Bon.
The defenses of the island, as we know,
were still incomplete. But if it was not
possible to finish them in time, at least pro-
visions and stores of all sorts abounded in
the arsenal.
Antekirtta was about twenty miles
from the Cyrenaic coast, and would have
been quite isolated in the gulf, If it had
not been for an islet known under the
name OF kencraf, which measured about
300 yards round, and emerged from the
sea about a couple of miles to the south
west. The DOCTORS idea was that this ISL
ct would do for the prison if any of the
colonists were sentenced to be impris-
oned after conviction by the regular
judicial authority Of the standard
which event had not yet happened. Aud
few buildings had been erected for this
purpose.
But Kencraf was not fortified, and in
case hostile flOtilla came to attack An
teklrtta, its very position constituted a
danger. In fact, the islet would easily
become a solid base OF operations. With
the facility OF landing munitions and food,
with the possibility of establishing bat
terry, it would afford an assailant an eX-
cellent centre, and all the more because
there was now no time to put it into a
proper stale Of defense.
The position of this island and the ad-
yantages it would give to an enemy of
Antekirtta made the doctor uneasy.
Thinking matters over he resolved to de-
strOy it, but at the same time to make it's
destruction serve for the complete annihi-
latiOn OF the pirates who risked its cap
ture. The project was Immediately put
in execution. Galleries were driven in
the ground, and Kencraf became an i'm
mense mine united to Antekirtta by a
submarine cable. All that was wanted
was current through the wire, and not
trace of the island would remain on the
surface of the sea.
For this formidable effort of destruction
the doctor had not used ordinary powder,
nor gun-cottOn, nor even dynamite. He
knew the composition of a recently-dls-
covered explosive whose destructive pow
er Is SO considerable that il may be said
1t is to dynamite what dynamite Is to gun
powder. More manageable than nitro
glycerine and more portable, for il only
requires two isolated liquids whose mix
ture does not take place until the moment
OF using them, 1t is refractory to congela-
ton down to six below zero, while dyna-
mite turns to Jelly at ten below freezing,
and it is only liable to explode from a viO-
lent shock, such as that from a fulmina-
ting capsule. How is it obtained? Quite
simply by the action of prOt0xide of intro
gen. pure and anhydrous, in a liquid state
on different carburets, mineral oils. VeQe-
table oils. or animal oils derived from fatty
bodies. OF these two liquids, which are
harmless when apart and are soluble In
each other, the explosive can be produced
in the desired proportion as easily as
mixture of water and wine, without anv
danger in manipulation. Such is
panclastite, a word meaning smash
ing everything-a IL does smash every
thing.
This panclastite was buried In the isIet
In the form of several fougasses. By
means of the cable from Antekirtta. which
led the spark into the charges of fulmi-
nate with which each fougass was fur
nlshed, the explosion would take place
instantaneOusly. AS it might happen
that the cable could he cut and put out Of
action, by excess OF precaution a certain
number Of electric batteries We're buried
in the ground and joined by subterraneau
wires, so that they had only to be trod up-
on accidentally 10 bring the wires in con-
tact, make the current, and cause the eX-
plosion. II many assailants landed on
kencraf 1t would thus be difficult for
them to avoid inter destruction.
These different works were well adj
vanced by the early days OF November.
when something occurred to take the
doctor away from the island for some
DAYS.
On the Ord of November, in the morning
the steamer engaged in bringing Goals
from Cardiff dropped anchor at the har
Dor OF AnteSirtta. During the VOYAGE She
had had to put in at Gibraltar. There at
the post office, waiting ITO be called for.,,
the captain found letter addressed TO
the doctor, a letter which the coast
offices had been sending after him
from time TO time without being able to
find him.
The doctor took the letter, the enveIope
(which was crowded with postmarks-
Malta, Catania, Ragusa, Ceuta, Otranto.
Malaga, Gibraltar.
The superscription-in large, shaky
hand--was evidently that of somebody
who was not accustomed, or perhaps had
not the strength to write many words
The envelope bore but the name-that of
the doctor-with the following pathetic
communications
- -s'ss'''s'-