Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1890-11-15
The Great War Syndicate.
By FRANK R. STOCKTON.

Author OF "RuGdar Grange" Amos Eli
bright" 'The Zee a:an Of Orn," The
Christmas WRECK ''The Lady or the
Tiger" 1.-THE Late MRS Null The
Hun,lred:h !Tan," ''Tho Casting Away
OF Mrs. Locks and Mrs, Aleshine,' THE
Dunan:es." etc.
Tho ci.iCer received this message and
vas disposed to look upon it as new
trick, but as no time Was to be lost he
sent q corporai's guard to the fort, and
there discovered an Irish sergeant by the
name of kilscg, who had sworn an oath
that if every o,her man in tie fort ran
away ike = lot OF GGcie pated sheep lie
would no: run with them; he would
stand to Ills pest 10 the last, and when
tie couple CT hl.ips outside had got
through bomhartting the stout walls Of
tie furt. the world would zee that there
was ii least one British soldier who was
not afraid Of bomb, he it little or big
Therefore he had managed to elade Oh
6ervation, and To remain Lekind.
The sergeant was 60 hot headed in Lis
determination to stand by the fort that
it required violence TO remove him: and
ii was not until twenty minutes PAST 4
that the syndicate observers perceived
that he he'd teen taken to the hill behind
which the garrison was cncamred.
AS it had been decided that EepcIler
No. . should discharge the next instan-
taneoEs motor bomb, there vas an
anxious deaire On the Part Of the opera
tors en- that vessel that in tits, their frs!
experience, they might Co their duty as
we'll Rs their comrades On board the other
rcpciler had done theirs. The most &C
cur2tc observations, the most careful cal
cuiations, wcro made and renlade. the
point to be aimed at being about the
center Of the fort.
The motor bomb had been in the can
non for nearly an hour, and everything
had long been ready, when at precispiy
thirty minutes past O'clock tie signal
TO discharge came from tie GireCtor-;n-
chief, and in four seconds afterward the
index On the scale indicated that the
gun was in the proper position, and the
button was touched.
The motor bomb Was set to oct The IN
star; it should touch any portion of the
fort, end the effect Was different from
that Of tie ether bombs. There was a
quick, hard sl:ock. hat it YVES all in the
Dir. Thousands of pales or glass in the
city and in hoGscs for miles around were
cracked or broken; birds fell dead or
stunned upon the ground, and people on
elevations at considerable distances felt
Is if they had rcceiGed blow; but there
was no trembling Of the ground.
As TO the fort, ii had entirely dieap-
peaTed, its PARTICLES having been insran-
taneously removed to great distance in
every direction, falling over such vas:
exp&nse OF land ard water that THEN de-
scent WAS uno,.scrv&hlc
Ill the place where Che fortress had
stood there was q wide tract Of Lara
earth, which looked Is If il had Teen
scraped into q staring dead level OF
gravel and clay. The instantaneous
motor bomb had teen arranged to act
almost horizontally.
Few persons. c&ccrt those who from q
distance had heon watching the fort with
glaHses, understood what had happencdi
but every Gle i'll tie city and surround
ing country was conscious that ecmc-
thing had happened Of a most startling
Kind, and th2t 1t WIS over il the same
instant in which they had perceived it.
Everywhere there was the noise CT fail
Ing window glass. There were those
who asserted th2t for an instant they had
heard in the distance grinding crash;
anl there were others who were
quito sure that they had noticed wha&
might he called flush Of dcykreas. IS ii
something had. with almost unapprec;.
allie quickness, passed Between them end
the Sun.
When II" cf,icers Of the garrison
mounted the hill before there and sur