Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-03-19
The Great War Syndicate.
By FRANK R. STOCKTON.

felt throughout the vessel. and the chat tered and crushed blades of the propel- iers of the great battle ship were power less to move her.
 The captain of the Adanaant, pallid with fury. stood upon the poop. In moment the crabs wouid be ;:t his rud- der! Tho great gun, double slotted and ready to fire, was hanging. from it's boom over tho stern. Crab k, whose roof had the additional protection of spring armor, now moved round SD as to be directly astern of the Adanlant. Before she could reach the rudder her forward part came under the suspended cannon, | and two massive steel shot were driven down upon her with force sufficient to send them through masses of solid rock, but from the surface of elastic steel springs and air buffers they bounced up- ward, one of them almost falling on the deck of the Adamant.
 The gunners of this piece had been well trained. In a moment the boom was swung around, the cannon reloaded, and whom Crab K fixed her nippers on the rudder of the Adamant two more shot came down upon her. As in the first instance she dipped and rolled, but the ribs of her uninjured armor had scarcely sprung back into their places before her nippers turned and the r,.dder of the Adamant was broken in two and the upper portion dragged from 1s fastenings; then quick backward jerk snapped its chains and it was dropped into the sea.
 A signal was now sent from Crab J to RepelIer No. :, to the effect that the Ada mant had been rendered incapable of steaminG or sailing, and that she lay sub ject to order
 Subject to order or not, the Adamant did not remain passive. Every gun on board which could be sufficiently de- pressed was made ready to fire upon the crabs should they attempt to get away. Four large boats, furnished with machine guns, grapnels. and with various appi- ances which might be brought into use on a steel plated roof were lowered from their tlavits. and immediately began fir ing upon the exposed portions of the crabs. Their machine guns were loaded with small shells, and if these penetrated under the horizontal plates of crab, and through the heavy glass which was supposed to be in these interstices, the crew of the submerged craft would be soon destroyed.
 The quick eye of the captain of the Adamant had observed through his glass, while the crabs were still at a consider able distance, their protruding air pipes, and he had instructed the officers in charge of the boats to make an especial attack upon these. If the air pipes of a crab could be rendered useless the crew must inevitably be smothered.
 But the brave captain did not know that the condensed air chambers of the crabs would supply their inmates for an hour or more without recourse to the outer air, and that the air pipes, fur nished with valves at the top, were always withdrawn under water during action with an enemy. Nor did he know that the glass blocks under the armor plates of the crabs, which were placed in rubber frames to protect them from concussion above, were also Euarded by steel netting from injury by small balls.
 Valiantly tire boats beset the crabs, keeping up constant fusillade and en- deavoring to throw grapnels over them. If one of these should catch under an : overlapping armcr plate it could be con- nected with the steam windlass of the Adamant and a plate might be ripped of or q crab overturned.
 - But the crabs proved to be much more lively fish than their enemies had sup posed. Turning, as if on a pivot, and darting from side to side, they seemed to be playing with the boats, and not trying to get away from them. The spring armor of Crab K interfered some what with it's movements and also put il in danger from attacks by grapnels, and it therefore left most of the work to it! consort.
 Crab J, after darting swiftly in ane out among her antagonists for some time suddenly made turn, and flashing a one of the boats, ran under it, and rais ing it on it's glistening back, rolled it bottom upward, into the sea. In a mo ment the crew of the boat were swim ming for their lives. They were quickl, picked up by two of tho other boats l which then deemed it prudent to return . to the ship.
 But the second officer of the Adamant who commanded the fourth boat, dit not give up the fight. Having noted tn spring armor of Crab K, he believed tha }. if he could get grapnel between it steel ribs he yet might capture the SC monster. For some minutes Crab K con tented itself with eluding him; but, tire
 of this, it turned, and raising it's hug }. nippers almost out of the water, it seize
 the bow of the boat and gave it gentl
 crunch, after which it released it's hol
 and retired. The boat, leaking rapidl
 through two ragged holes, was rowe 7 back to the ship, which it reached hal
 full of water.
 The great battle ship, totally bereft (
 tLe power of moving herself, was no,
 rolling in the trough of the sea, and
 signal came from the repeller for Ora
 K to make fast to her and put her hea
 to the wind. This was quickly done. th 5, Crab attaching itself to the stern post (
 the Adamant by pair of towing nil
 pers These were projected from til
 stern of the crab, and were SO constructe
 that t1n larcar .vaccn1 did moi por0rnnn