The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1889-05-03
The Great War Syndicate.
Ty FRANK R. STOCKTON.

Hundredth Man." "The Casting Away
Dusantes." etc.
Copyrighted by T. r. Collier. of Golfers Once
a Week, and published by special arrangement
with him through the American Press Associa
ton. All rights reserved
Now the director gave the signal. ana
the captain, with his eyes fixed upon his
ship. touched the button. A quick shock
ran through the repeller. and II black
gray cloud, half a mile high. occupied
the place of the British ship
The cloud rapidly settled down. cover.
ing the water with glittering scum
which spread far and wide. and which
had been the Craglevin
The British captain stood fora moment
motionless, and then he picked up IA
hammer and ran it into the muzzle of
the cannon which had been discharged
The great gun was empty. The instan.
taneous motor bomb was not there
Now he was convinced that the syndi
cate had not mined the fortresses which
they had destroyed
officers were on board the transport.
which then steamed rapidly westward
The crabs again took the repeller in tow
and the syndicate's fleet continued its
eastward course, passing through the
wide expanse of glittering scum which
had spread itself upon the sea.
They were not twO-thirds of their way
across the Atlantic when the transport
reached st. Johns. and the cable told the
world that the Cragievin had been ami
hilated
This news was received with amaze
ment, and even CONSERVATION. it came
from an officer in the Royal navy, and
how could it be doubted that great
man-of-war had been destroyed in n mo
ment by one shot from the syndicate's
vessell And yet, even now, there were
persons who did doubt, and who asserted
that the crabs might have placed a great
torpedo under the Craglevin that wire
attached to this torpedo ran out from the
repeller, and that the British captain had
merely fired the torpedo. But hour by
hour. as fuller news came across the
ocean, the number Of these doubters be-
came smaller and smaller.
In the midst of the great public excite
ment which now existed on both sides of
the Atlantic-in the midst of all the con-
fiicting opinions, fears and hopes--the
dominant sentiment seemed to be. in
America as well as in Europe, one of
curiosity. Were these six crabs and one
repeller bound for the British Isles? And
If so, what did they intend to do when
they got there?
1t was now generally admitted that
one Of the syndicate's crabs could disable
man-of-war; that one of the syndi-
Gates repellers could withstand the
heaviest artillery fire, and that one of the
syndicate's motor bombs could destroy q
vessel or a fort. But these things had
been proved in isolated combats, where
tho new methods OF attack and defense
had had almost undisturbed opportunity
for exhibiting their efficiency. But what
could repeller and half dozen crabs
do against the combined force of the
Royal navy, navy which had in the
last few years regained its supremacy
among the nations, and which had made
Great Britain once more the first mari
time power in the world?
The crabs might disable some men-of-
war, the repeller might make her calcu-
lations and discharge her bomb at ship
or fort, but what would the main body
of the navy be doing meanwhile? Over
whelming, crushing and sinking to the
bottom crabs, repeller, motor guns and
everything that belonged to them.
In England there was feeling of
strong resentment that such o little fleet
tent into British waters. This resent
ment extended itself not only to the inn
pudent syndicate, but toward the gov
eminent, and the opposition party gained
daily in strength. The opposition papers
had been loud and reckless i'm their de-
nunciations of the slowness and made
quacy of the naval preparations, and
loaded the government with the entire
responsibility, not only of the damage
which had already been done to the forts,
the ships, and the prestige of Great
Britain, but also for the threatened
danger of sudden descent Of the syndi-
Gates fleet upon some unprotected point
upon the coast. This fleet should never
have been allowed to approach within q
thousand miles of England. 1t should
hnvo be,i1 sunk in mid-ocean, if its sink
ing had involved the loss of dozen men,
of-war.
In America very strong feeling of dis
satisfaction showed itself. From the first
tho syndicate contract had not been popu-
lar, but tho quick, effective and business
like action Of that body of men, and the
marked success up to this time of their
inventions and their operations, had
caused great reaction in their favor.
They had, so far, successfully defended
the American coast, and when they had
increased the number of their vessels,
they would have been relied upon to con-
tinue that defense. Even if British
armada had set out to cross the Atlantic,
its movements must have been slow and
cumbrous, and the swift and sudden
strokes with which the syndicate waged
war could have been given by night and
by day over thousands of miles OF ocean.
Whether or not these strokes would