Morris tribune., 1889-05-08
The Great War Syndicate.
By FRANK R. STOCKTON.


By FRANK R. STOCKTON.
Author of "Rudder Grange" "Amos Kill
bright" .sTho Bee Man of Orn," "The
Christmas Wreck. .'The Lady or the
Tiger. .'Tle Late Mrs. Null" 1.-THE
Hundredth Man." ''The Casting Away
of slrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aieshine,'' "rhe
Dmsantes." etc.
iCopyrighted by r. r. Collier, of Golfers Once
q Week AMI published by special arrangement
with hin, through the American Press Associa
lion. All rights reserved.
The captain Of the Craglevin was J,
very different man from the captain of /
the Adamant. He was quite as brave,
but he was wiser. and moro prudent. He /
saw th;t the transport had been cap !
tured end forced to lay to; he saw that !
the repeiler mounted two heavy guns at |
her bow, and whatever might be the :
character of those guns, there could be
no reasonable doubt that they were suf-
ficient to sink an ordinary mail steamer.
His own vessel was entirely out of his
control, and even If he chose to try his
guns on the spring armor Of the repeller,
it would probably result in the repeller
turning her fire upon the transport.
With disabled ship, and the lives Of
so many men in his charge, the captain
of the Craglevin saw that it would be
wrong for him to attempt to fight, and
he did not fire a gun. With as much
calmness as the circumstances would
permit he awaited the progress Of
events
In a very short time message came
to him from Repeller No. II, which
stated that in two hours his ship would
be destroyed by instantaneous motor
bombs. Every opportunity, however,
would be given for the transfer to the
mail steamer of all the officers and men
on board the Craglevin, together with
such of their possessions as they could
take with them in that time. When this
had been done the transport would be
allowed to proceed on her way:
To this demand nothing but acquies-
cence was possible. Whether or not
there was such thing as an instantane-
Gus motor bomb the Craglevin's officers
did not know: but they knew that if left
to herself their ship would soon attend
to her own sinking, for there was a terri
BILE rent in her stern, owing to pitch of
tho vessel while one of the propeller
shafts was being extracted.
Preparations for leaving the ship were
therefore Immediately begun. The crab
was ordered to release the mail steamer,
which, in obedience to signals from the
Craglevin, steamed as near that vessel
as safety would permit. Boats were
lowered from both ships, and the work
of transfer went on with great activity.
There was no lowering of flags on
board the Craglevin, for the syndicate
attached no importance to such outward
signs and formalities. If the captain of
the British ship chose to haul down his
colors he could do so, but if he preferred
to leave them still bravely floating above
his vessel, he was equally welcome to do
that.
When nearly every one had left the
Craglevin, boat was sent from the re-
peller, which lay near by, with note
requesting the captain and first officer
of the British ship to come on board Re
peller No. II and witness the method of
discharging the instantaneous motor
bomb, after which they would be put on
board the transport. This invitation
struck the captain of the Craglevin with
surprise, but a little reflection showed
him that it would be wise to accept it.
In the first place, it was in the nature OF
command, which in the presence OF
six crabs and o repeller it would be
ridiculous to disobey, and, NOR lS, he
was moved by desire to khs- me
thing about the syndicate's mysterious
engine of destruction, if, indeed, 7fh a
thing really existed. ID
Accordingly, when all the others had
left the ship, the captain of the Crag-
levin and his first officer came on board
the repeller, curiously observing the
spring armor over which they passed by
means of light gangboard with hand
rail. They were received by the director
at one of the matches of the steel deck,
which were now all open, and conducted
by him to the bombproof compartment
in the bow. There was no reason why
the nature of the repeller's defenses
should not be known to the world nor
adopted by other nations. They were
intended as protection against ordi-
nary shot and shell; they would avail
nothing against the instantaneous motor
bomb.
The British officers were shown; the
motor bomb to be discharged, which,
externally, was very much like an ordi-
nary shell, except that it was nearly as
long as the bore of the cannon; and the
director stated that although, Of course,
the principle of the motor bomb was the
syndicate's secret, it was highly desira-
BILE that its effects and its methods Of
operation should be generally known.
The repeller, accompanied by the mail
steamer and all the crabs, now moved to
about two miles to the leeward Of the
Craglevin, and lay to. The motor bomb
was then placed in one Of the great guns,
while the scientific corps attended to the
necessary calculations Of distance, ete.
The director now turned to the British
captain, who had been Observing every
thing with the greatest interest, and,
with smile, asked him If he would like
to commit harikari?
As this remark was somewhat enig-
NAUTICAL, the director went on to say that
if it would be any qualification to the
captain to destroy his vessel with his own
hands, instead of allowing this to be
done by an enemy, he was at liberty to
do so. This offer was Immediately ac-
cepted, for if his ship were really to be
destroyed, the captain felt that he would
like to do it himself.
IkaiIl