Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1890-02-28

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AND THE Sun sHoNE INTO A GREAT HOLE
WHERE FORT PITCHER HAD BEEN.
vcyed the place where their fort had
been. there was not one Of them who had
sufficient command of himself to write
report of what had happened. They
gazed at the bare, staring fatness of the
shorn bluff. and they looked M each o,her
his wa not war. 10 was eoMelnIng
supernatural, awful They we're not
frightened; they were oppressed and ap-
paucd. But the military discipline Of
their minds soon excrted its force. and o
brief account Of the terrific event was
transmitted to the authorities. and Sergt.
Kilsey was sentenced to a month in the
guard house.
No one approached tho vicinity of the
bluff where the fort had stood, for danger
might not be over; but every possible
point of observation within a safe dis
lance was soon crowded with anxious
and terrified observers. A feeling of awe
was noticeable everywhere. If people
could have had tangible idea of what
had occurred, it would have been differ
ent If tho sea had ragged; if vast body
of water had been thrown into the air; if
dense cloud had been suddenly elected
from the surface Of the earth, they might
have formed some opinion about it. But
the instantaneous disappearance Of a
great fertilization with little more ap-
probable accompaniment than the sud-
den tap. as of little hammer, upon
thousands of window panes, was some
thing which their intellects could not
grasp. 1t was not to be expected that
the ordinary mind could appreciate the
difference between the action of an in
Simultaneous motor when imbedded in
rocks and earth, and its effect, when op-
posed by nothing but stone walls, upon
or near the surface of the earth.
Early the next morning the little feet
Of the syndicate prepared to carry out
its further orders. The waters of the
lower bay were now entirely deserted,
craft Of every description having taken
refuge in the upper part Of the harbor
near and above tho city. Therefore as
soon as it was light enough to make OBJ
servations Repeller No. l did not hesitate
to discharge q motor bomb into the
harbor. mile or more above where the
first one had fallen. This was donc in
order to explode any torpedoes which
might have been put into position since
the discharge Of the first bomb.
There were very few people in the city
and suburbs who were at that hour out
Of doors, where they could see the great
cloud Of water rise toward the sky, and
behold it descend like mighty cataract
upon the harbor and adjacent shores;
but the quick. sharp shock which ran
under the town made people spring from
their beds. and although nothing was
then to be seen. nearly everybody felt
sure that the syndicate's forces had be-
gun their days work by exploding an
other mine.
A lighthouse, the occupants of which
had been ordered to leave when the fort
was evacuated, as they might be in dan
ger in case Of a bombardment, was SO
shaken by the explosion of this motor
bomb that it fell in ruins on the rocks
upon which it had stood.
The two crabs now took the steel net
from its moorings and carried it up the
narbor. This was rather difficult on &C
count f.the islands. rocks and sandbars;
but the leading crab had on board pilot
acquainted with those waters. With the
net hanging between them, the two sub
merged vessels. one carefully following
the other. reached a point about two
miles below the city, where the net was
anchored across the harbor. It did not
reach from shore to shore, but in the
course Of the morning two ether nets,
designed for shallower waters, were
brought from the repellers and anchored
at each end OF the main net. thus FORM
ing line of complete protection against
submarine torpedoes which might be
sent down from the upper harbor.
Repeller No. now steamed into the
harbor. accompanied by Crab A, and
anchored about a quarter Of q mile sea-
ward Of the net The other repeller,
with her attendant crab. cruised about
the mouth Of the harbor, watching q
smaller entrance to the port as well as
the larger one, and thus maintaining an
effective blockade. This was not diff.
cult duty, for since the news Of the ex.
traordinary performances of the crabs
had been spread abroad, no merchant
vessel, large or small, cared to approach
that port; and strict orders had been
issued by the British admiralty that nc
vessel Of the navy should. until furthe,
instructed. engage in combat with the
peculiar craft of tho syndicate. Until q
plan Of action had been determined
upon. it was very desirable that English
cruisers should not be exposed to useless
injury and danger.
This being the state Of affairs, mes
sage was sent from the Office OF
the syndicate across the border to
the Dominion government, which
stated that the seaport city which
had been attacked by the forces of the
syndicate now lay under tho guns of its
vessels, and in case Of an overt act OF
war by Great Britain or Canada alone,
such as the entrance Of an armed force
from British territory into the United
States, or capture Of or attack upon an
American vessel, navel or commercial.
BY a British man-of-war, or an attack
upon an American port by British yes
sells, the city would be bombarded and
destroyed
This message, which was Of course in
stantly transmitted to London, placed
the British government in the apparent
position Of being held by tho throat by
the American War Syndicate. But if
the British government or the people of
England or Canada recognized this posi-
ton at all it was merely as q temporary
condition In a short time the most
powerful men-of-war Of the royal navy,
as well as fleet of transports carrying
troops, would reach the coasts of North
America, and then the condition of
affairs would rapidly be changed. 1t
was absurd to suppose that few me-
dunn sized vessels, however heavily
armored. or a few new tangled subma-
rine machines, however destructive they
might be. could withstand an armada of
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