The Florida agriculturist., 1889-05-22

~ 10 Jake DOSoC0oAOA Va SAA~ - ~~O~~
ated Notifications. or should attempt any
mining operations The gunners for this
battery were stationed at safe place to
the rear, whence they could readily
reach their guns if necessary.
The next day was one or supreme I'M
portance to the syndicate. On this day
it must make plain to the world, not only
what the motor bomb could do, but that
the motor bomb did what was done.
Before leaving the English channel the
director of Repeller No. II had received
telegraphic advices from both Europe
and America indicating the general drift
of public opinion in regard to the recent
sea fight; and, besides these, many Eng
ish and continental papers had been
brought to him from the French coast.
From all these the director perceived
that the cause Of the syndicate had in
certain way suffered from the manner in
which the battle in the channel had been
conducted. Every newspaper urged that
if the repeller carried guns capable Of
throwing the bombs which the syndicate
proposed to use there was no reason why
every ship in the British fleet should not
have been destroyed. But as the repeller
had not fired single shot at the feet, and
as the battle had been fought entirely
by the crabs, there was every reason to
believe that if there were such things as
motor guns their range was very short,
not as great as that of the ordinary dyna-
mite cannon. The great risk run by one
of the crabs in order to disable dyna-
mite gunboat seemed an additional proof
of this
It was urged that the explosions in the
water might have been produced by tor
pedoes; that the torpedo boat which had
been destroyed was so near the repeller
that an ordinary shell was sufficient to
accomplish the damage that had been
DONE
To gainsay these assumptions was i'm
perative on the syndicate's forces. To
firmly establish the prestige Of the in
Simultaneous motor was the object of the
war. Crabs were of but temporary SER
vice. Any nation could build vessels
like them, and there were many means
of destroying them. The spring armor
was complete defense against ordinary
artillery, but it was not defense against
submarine torpedoes. The claims of the
syndicate could be firmly based on moth
ing but the powers of absolute annihila-
tion possessed by the instantaneous mo-
tor bomb.
About 9 o'clock on the appointed morn
ing Repeller No. II, much to the surprise
of the spectators on the high grounds
with field glasses and talnsc0Dee ctnarood
away from Caerdaff. What this meant
nobody knew, but the naval military OBJ
servers Immediately suspected that the
syndicate vessel had concentrated atten-
ton upon Caerdaf in order to go over to
Ireland to do some sort Of mischief there.
1t was presumed that the crabs accom-
panied her, but as they were now at their
fighting depth it was impossible to see
them at so great distance.
But it was soon perceived that Repel-
Ter No. II had no intention of running
away, nor of going over to Ireland.
From slowly cruising about four or five
miles off shore she had steamed west
ward until she had reached point
which, according to the calculations of
her scientific corps, was nine marine
miles from Caerdatf There she lay to
against strong breeze from the east.
1t was not yet 10o'clock when the off,
Ger in charge of the starboard gun re-
marked to the director that he supposed
that it would not be necessary to give
the smoke signals. as had been done in
tho channel, as now all the crabs were
living near them Tho diroctOr. roAooAod