Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1890-03-28

THE BRITISH CAPTAIN DESTROYING HIS
OWN SHIP.
When the calculations had been made
and the indicator set, the captain was
shown the button he must press, and
stood waiting for the signal He looked
over the sea at the Craglevin. which had
settled little at the stern. and was roll
ing heavily, but she was still q magnifi-
cent battle ship. with the red cross Of
England floating over her. He could
not help the thought that il this motor
mystery should amount to nothing. there
was no reason Vhy the Cragle~in should
not be towed INTO port, and DO made
again the grand war ship that she had
been.
Now tho director gavo the signal, and
the captain. with his eyes fixed upon his
ship. touched the button. Aquick shock
ran through tho repeller, and q black
gray cloud. half . 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 for . moment
motionlcss. and then he picked up q
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.
In twenty minutes the two British
officers were on board the transport,
which then steamed rapidly westward.
The crabs again took the repeller In tow,
and tho syndicate's fleet Continued its
eastward course. passing through the
vide expanss Of glittering scum which
had spread itself upon the sea.
They werc not two-thirds Of their way
across the Atlantic when the transport
reached St Johns, and the cable told the
world that the Craglevin had been anni-
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 q great
man-of-war had been destroyed In q mo-
ment BY one shot from the syndicate's
vessel! And yet, even now, there were
persons who did doubt. and who asserted
that the crabs might have placed great
torpedo under the Craglevin: that wire
attached to this torpedo ran out from the
repelleF. and TINT tho British captain had
merely fred the torpedo. But hour by
hour. a. 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-
6icting 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
u 30. what did they intend to do when
they got there?
It was now generally admitted that
ono 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
syndicateS motor bombs could destroy q
vessel or 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 a repeiler and half dozen crabs
do against the combined force OF the
Royal navy. q navy which had in the
'ast few years regained its supremacy
among the nations. and which had made
Great Britain once more the first mari
time power in the world?
Tho crabs might disable some men-of-
war. the repeller might make her calcu-
lations and discharge her bomb at a ship
or fort, but what would the main BODY
OF the navy bc doing MEANWHILE Over
whelming. crushing and sinking to the
bottom crabs, repeller. motor guns and
everything that belonged to them.
In England there was q feeling of
strong resentment that such little deet