Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-03-14
The Great War Syndicate.
By FRANK R. STOCKTON.

rival at the other would not be appTe- ciable. The difference in concussionary force between train moving at the rate of mile in two minutes, or even one minute, and another train which moves a mile in an instant, can easily be lmag- ined.
 In these bombs those tubes which might direct their powers downward or laterally upon the earth were capable of instantaneously propeiing every portion of solid gro md or rock to distance of two or three hundred yards, while the particles of objects on the surface of the earth were instantaneousiy removed to a far greater distance. The tube which propelled the bomb was of force grad uated according to circumstances, and It would carry bomb to as great q dis tance as accurate observation for pur- poses of aim could be made. Its force was brought into action while ill the cannon by means of electricity, while the same effect was produced in the other tubes by the concussion of the steel head against the object aimed at.
 What gave the tubes their power was the iealously guarded secret.
 The method of aiming was as novel as the bomb itself. In this process nothing depended on the eyesight of the gunner; the personal equation was entirely elimi- ni-ted. The gun was so mounted that its direction was accurately indicated by graduated scales; there was an instru- ment which was acted upon by the dip, rise or roll of the vessel, and which showed at any moment tho position of Al. fl,A ,>1~ NF the sea surface.
 Before the discharge of the cannon an observation was taken by one of the sci entific men which accurately determined the distance 10 the object to be aimed at, and reference to a carefully prepared mathematical table showed to what points on the graduated scales the gun should be adjusted: and the instant that the muzzle of the cannon was in the po- sition that 1t was when the observation was taken a button was touched, and the bomb was instantaneously placed on the spot aimed at. The eXactness with which the prorelling force of the bomb could be determined was an important factor in this method of aiming.
 As soon as three of the spring armored vessels and five "crabs" were completed, the syndicate felt itself ready to begin operations. It was indeed time. Tho seas had been covered with American and British merchantmen hastening home ward, or to friendly ports, before the actual commencement of hostilitieS. But all had not been fortunate enough to reach safety within the limits, of time allowed, and several American mer- chantmen had been already captured by fast British cruisers.
 The members of the syndicate well understood that if a war was to be car ried on as they desired, they must strike the first real blow. Comparatively speak ing, a very short time had elapsed since tho declaration of war, and the opportu- tunity to take the initiative was still open.
 It was ill order to tako this initiative that, in the early hours of July morn. ing, two of the syndicate's arnaored vessels, each accompanied by a crab steamed out of a New England port, and headed for the point on tho Canadian ,oast whero it had been decided to open the campaign.
 The vessels of tho syndicate had no in dividual names. The spring armored ships were termed ''rcpellers," and were numbered, and tho crabs were known by the letters of the alphabet. Each repellel was in charge of a directcr of maya operations; and the whole naval force ol the syndicate was under the command of a director-in-cilicf. On t,,i; InoUen touS occasion this officer we. cn board O. Repcller No. 1, and commanded tiic littl, fleet.
 The rcpcllers had never been vessels O. great speed, and their present armor O steel strips, the lower portion of whicl was frequently under water, considerabl, retarded their progress, but each of then was taken in tow by one of tho swift ant powerful crabs, and with this assistanc they made very good time, reaching thei destination on the morning of thesecon, day.
 It was on breezy day, with a cloud, sky, and the sea moderately smooth, tha the little fleet of tho syndicate lay to of the harbor of one of the principal Cana dian seaports. About five miles ava the headlands on either side of the lnout !. of the harbor could plainly be seen. had been decided that Repeller No.
 should begin operations. Accordingly that vessel steamed about milo neare the harbor, accompanied by Crab 4 ). The other rcpeller and crab remained i their first position, ready to act in cas they should be needed.
 The approach of two vessels, evidentl men-of-war, and carrying the America . flag, was perceived from tho forts an redoubts at tho mouth of tho harbol and the news quickly spread to the cit
 and to the vessels in port. Intense e, citement ensued on land and wate <. among the citizens of the place as we
 as its defenders. Every man who had
 post of duty was instantly at it; and
 less than half an hour the British mal
 of-war Scarabeus, which had been lyin
 at anchor a short distance outside tt
 harbor, came steaming out to meet tf : enemy. There were other naval vesse - in port, but they required more time
 be put in readiness for action.
 AS soon as the approach of Scarab@' l. | l.