The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1898-04-03

ward portion commenced slowly to rise,
until it pointed upward like the nose of
fish approaching the surface of the
water. The moment it was in this po-
sition, an electrical bolt was darted
from it's Prov and one of our ships re-
ceived shock which, although it did
not prove fatal to the vessel itself,
killed two or three men aboard it, dis
arranged it's apparatus, and rendered
it for the time being useless.
"Ah, that's their trick, is it?" said
Mr.. Edison. 1--WE must look out for
that Whenever you see one of the air.
ships beginning to stick it's nose up af-
ter that fashion, blaze away at it,
An order to this effect was transmit
ted throughout the squadron. At the
same time several of the most power
full disintegrators were directed upon
the ship which had executed the STRAIT
egem and, reduced to a wreck, it
dropped, whirling like a broken kite
until it fell into the flood beneath.
Still the Martians ships came flock
ing in ever greater numbers from all
directions. They made desperate at
tempts to attain the level at which we
hung above them. This was impossible,
but many, getting an impetus by a
swift run in the denser portion of the
atmosphere beneath, succeeded in ris-
ing so high that they could discharge
their electric artillery with consider
able effect. Others, with more or less
success, repeated the manoeuvre of the
ship which had first attacked US, and
thus the battle became gradually more
general and more fierce, until, in the
course Of an hour or two, our squadron
found itself engaged with probably a
thousand airships, which blaZed with
incessant lightning strokes, and were
able, all too frequently, to do us seri-
Gus damage.
But on our part the battle was waged
with a cool determination and a con-
seriousness of insuperable advantage
which BODIED ill for the enemy. Only
three or four of our sixty electrical
ships We're seriously damaged, while
the work of the disintegrators upon
the crowded fleet that fioated beneath
us was terrible to look upon.
Our strokes fell thick and fast on all
sides. 1t was like firing into a flock OF
birds that could not get away. Not
withstanding all their efforts they were
practically at our mercy. Shattered in
to unrecognizable fragments, hundreds
of the airships continually dropped
from their great height to be swal-
lowed up in the boiling waters
Yet they were game to the last. They
made every effort to get at us, and ir
their frenzy they seemed to discharge
their bolts without much regard as t.
whether friends or foes We're injured
Our eyes were nearly blinded by the
ceaseless glare beneath us, and the up.
roar was indescribable.
At length, after the fearful contest
had lasted for at least three hours, il
became evident that the strength o.
the enemy was rapidly weakening
Nearly the whole of their immense
fleet of airships had been destroyed, o.
SO far damaged that they were barely
able to float. Just so long, however, a!
they showed signs of resistance WE
continued to pour our merciless fire up
on them, and the signal to cease wal
not given until the airships which hat
escaped serious damage began to fle'
in every direction.
Thank God, the thing is over" salt
Mr. Edison. I'VE have got the victor.
at last, but how we shall make use o
it is something that at present 1 d.
not see.''
But will they not renew the at
tack! asked some one.
II do not think they cam" was tn
reply. I'VE have destroyed the yer
flower Of their fleet"
And better than that" said Col
onel Smith, 1--WE have destroyed thei
elan; we have made them afrait
Their discipline is gone''
But this was only the beginning O
our victory. The floods below wer
achieving still greater triumph, an
now that we had conquered the air
ships, we dropped within few hundre
feet of the surface of the water an
then turned our faces westward in or
der to follow the advance of the delug
and see whether, as we had hoped,
would overwhelm our enemies in tn
very centre of their power.
In a little while we had overtake
the front wave, which was still devour
ing everything. We saw it burstin
the banks of the canals, sweeping ava
forests of gigantic trees, and swallow
ing cities and villages, leaving benin
nothing but a broad eXpanse of swirl
ing and eddying waters, which, in con
sequence of the prevailing red hue G
the vegetation and the soil, looked, a.
shuddering, we gazed down up it, lik
and steaming with the escaping life @
the planet from whose veins it gushet
AS we skirted the southern border
of the continent the same dreadfr
scenes which we had beheld on tn
coast of Aeria presented themselves
Crowds of refugees thronged the hig
border of the land and struggled wit
one another for a foothold against tn
continually rising flood
We saw, too, fitting in every direc
ton, but rapidly fleeing before our ap
proach many airships, evidentl
2 crowded with Martians, but not arme
either for offence or defence. These
of course, we did not disturb, for merci
r less as our proceedings seemed even
l ourselves, we had no intention of max
l ing war upon the innocent, or upo
J. those who had no means to resis
e What we had done it had seemed to u
I necessary to do, but henceforth w
t were resolved to take no more lives
t it could be avoided.
! Thus, during the remainder of tina
day, all of the following night and a
= of the next day, we continued upo
] the heels of the advancing flood.
, The second night we could perceiv
! ahead of us the electric lights cover
e ing the land of Thaumasia, in tn
g midst of which lay the Lake of tn
S Sun. The flood would be upon it b
e daybreak, and, assuming that the dc
! moralization produced by the news {