The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1889-04-19

left in charge of Crab X, OF which only
q few square yards Of armorcd roof could
be seen above the water. This little YES
sci now proceeded to tow southwark her
vast prize, uninjured. except that her
rudder and propeller blades were broken
and useless.
Although the engines of the crab were
OF enormous power, the progress made
was slow, for the Adamant was being
towed stern foremost. 1t would have
been easier to tow the great vessel had
the crab been attached to her bow, but
ram which extended many feet under
water rendered it dangerous for sub
merged vessel to attach itself in its
vicinity.
During the night the repeller kept
company, although at considerable dis
tancc, with tho captured vessel; and
early the next morning her director pre-
pared to send to tho Adamant boat
with q flag of truce and letter demand
ing the surrender end subsequent evacu-
alton of tho British ship. 1t was sup
posed that now, when the officers of the
Adamant had had time TO appreciate the
fact that they had no control over the
movements of their vessel: tn at their
armament was powerless against their
enemies; that the Adamant could be
lowed wherever the syndicate chose to
order, or left helpless in mid-occan, they
would be obliged to admit that there was
nothing for them to do but to surrender.
But events proved that no such ideas
had entered the minds of the Adamant's
officers, and their action totally pre-
vented sending flag Of truce boat AS
soon as it was light enough to see the
repeller the Adamant began firing great
guns at her. She was too far away for
the shot to strike her, but to launch and
send boat of any kind into storm of
shot and shell was of course impossible.
The cannon suspended over the stern
of the Adamant was also again brought
into play, and shot after shot was driven
down upon the towing crab. Every
ball rebounded from the spring armor,
but the officer in charge of the crab be-
came convinced that after time this
constant pounding, almost in the same
place, would injuro his vessel, and he
signaled the repeller to that effect.
The director of Repeller No. had been
considering the situation. There was
only one gun on the Adamant which
could be brought to bear upon Crab Il,
and it would be the part of wisdom to
interfere with tho persistent use of this .
gun. Accordingly the bow of the re-
peller WAS brought to bear upon the
Adamant, and her motor gun was aimed
at the boom from which the cannon was
suspended.
The projectil lie with which the cannon
was loaded was not an instantaneous
motor bomb. 1t was simply heavy
solid shot, driven by an instantaneous
motor attachment, and was thus impelled
by the same power and in the same man
ner as the motor bombs The instantane-
GUS motor power had not yet been used
at SO great distance as that between the
repeller and the Adamant, and the occa-
sion was one of intense interest to the
small body Of scientific men having
charge of the aiming and firing.
The calculations of the distance, of the
necessary elevation and direction, and
of the degree of motor power required,
wero made with careful exactness, and
when the proper instant arrived the but
ton was touched, and the shot with
which the cannon was charged was
instcntaneously removed to point in
the ocean about mile beyond the Ada
mant, accompanied by large portion of
the heavy boom at which the gun had
been aimed.
The cannon which had been suspended
from the end of this boom fell into the
sea, and would have crashed down upon
the roof of Grab x, had not that vessel,
in obedience to signal from the repel--
Ter, loosened its hold upon the Adamant
and retired short distance astern. Ma
terial injury might not have resulted
from the fall of this great mass of metal
upon the crab, but it was considered pru-
dent not to take useless risks.
The officers Of the Adamant were
greatly surprised and chagrined by the
fall of their gun, with which they had
expected ultimately to pound in the roof
Of the crab. No damage had been done
to the vessel except the removal Of q
portion of the boom, with some of the
chains and blocks attached, and no one
on board the British ship imagined for a
moment that this injury had been occa-
stoned by the distant repeller. 1t was
supposed that the constant firing of the
cannot had cracked the boom, and that
it had suddenly snapped.
Even if there had been on board the
Adamant the means for rigging up an
other arrangement of the kind for per-
pendicular artillery practice, it would
have required a long time to get it into
working order, and the director of Re
peller No. hoped that now the British
captain would see the uselessness of con-
tinued resistance.
But the British captain saw nothing of
the kind, and shot after shot from his
guns were hurled high into tho air, in
hopes that the great curves described
would bring some of them down on the
deck Of the repcller. If this beastly
store ship, which could stand fire but
never returned it, could be sunk, the Adj
amant's captain would be happy. With
the exception of the loss of her motive
power his vessel vaa intact md If tho