第9章 THE GREAT WAR SYNDICATE(9)

The great gun in the bow of the vessel was loaded with one of the largest and most powerful motor-bombs, and the spot to be aimed at was selected.This was a point in the water just inside of the mouth of the harbour, and nearly a mile from the land on either side.The distance of this point from the vessel being calculated, the cannon was adjusted at the angle called for by the scale of distances and levels, and the instrument indicating rise, fall, and direction was then put in connection with it.Now the Director-in-chief stepped forward to the button, by pressing which the power of the motor was developed.The chief of the scientific corps then showed him the exact point upon the scale which would be indicated when the gun was in its proper position, and the piece was then moved upon its bearings so as to approximate as nearly as possible this direction.The bow of the vessel now rose upon the swell of the sea, and the instant that the index upon the scale reached the desired point, the Director-in-chief touched the button.There was no report, no smoke, no visible sign that the motor had left the cannon; but at that instant there appeared, to those who were on the lookout, from a fort about a mile away, a vast aperture in the waters of the bay, which was variously described as from one hundred yards to five hundred yards in diameter.At that same instant, in the neighbouring headlands and islands far up the shores of the bay, and in every street and building of the city, there was felt a sharp shock, as if the underlying rocks had been struck by a gigantic trip-hammer.At the same instant the sky above the spot where the motor had descended was darkened by a wide- spreading cloud.This was formed of that portion of the water of the bay which had been instantaneously raised to the height of about a thousand feet.The sudden appearance of this cloud was even more terrible than the yawning chasm in the waters of the bay or the startling shock; but it did not remain long in view.It had no sooner reached itshighest elevation than it began to descend.There was a strong sea- breeze blowing, and in its descent this vast mass of water was impelled toward the land.It came down, not as rain, but as the waters of a vast cataract, as though a mountain lake, by an earthquake shock, had been precipitated in a body upon a valley.Only one edge of it reached the land, and here the seething flood tore away earth, trees, and rocks, leaving behind it great chasms and gullies as it descended to the sea.The bay itself, into which the vast body of the water fell, became a scene of surging madness.The towering walls of water which had stood up all around the suddenly created aperture hurled themselves back into the abyss, and down into the great chasm at the bottom of the bay, which had been made when the motor sent its shock along the great rock beds.Down upon, and into, this roaring, boiling tumult fell the tremendous cataract from above, and the harbour became one wild expanse of leaping maddened waves, hissing their whirling spray high into the air.During these few terrific moments other things happened which passed unnoticed in the general consternation.All along the shores of the bay and in front of the city the waters seemed to be sucked away, slowly returning as the sea forced them to their level, and at many points up and down the harbour there were submarine detonations and upheavals of the water.These were caused by the explosion, by concussion, of every torpedo and submarine battery in the harbour; and it was with this object in view that the instantaneous motor- bomb had been shot into the mouth of the bay.The effects of the discharge of the motor-bomb astonished and even startled those on board the repellers and the crabs.At the instant of touching the button a hydraulic shock was felt on Repeller No.1.This was supposed to be occasioned the discharge of the motor, but it was also felt on the other vessels.It was the same shock that had been felt on shore, but less in degree.A few moments after there was a great heaving swell of the sea, which tossed and rolled the four vessels, and lifted the steel protecting net so high that for an instant parts of it showed themselves above the surface like glistening sea- ghosts.Experiments with motor-bombs had been made in unsettled mountainous districts, but this was the first one which had ever exerted its power under water.On shore, in the forts, and in the city no one for aninstant supposed that the terrific phenomenon which had just occurred was in any way due to the vessels of the Syndicate.The repellers were in plain view, and it was evident that neither of them had fired a gun.Besides, the firing of cannon did not produce such effects.It was the general opinion that there had been an earthquake shock, accompanied by a cloud-burst and extraordinary convulsions of the sea.Such a combination of elementary disturbances had never been known in these parts; and a great many persons were much more frightened than if they had understood what had really happened.In about half an hour after the discharge of the motor-bomb, when the sea had resumed its usual quiet, a boat carrying a white flag left Repeller No.1, rowed directly over the submerged net, and made for the harbour.When the approach of this flag-of-truce was perceived from the fort nearest the mouth of the harbour, it occasioned much surmise.Had the earthquake brought these Syndicate knaves to their senses? Or were they about to make further absurd and outrageous demands? Some irate officers were of the opinion that enemies like these should be considered no better than pirates, and that their flag-of-truce should be fired upon.But the commandant of the fort paid no attention to such counsels, and sent a detachment with a white flag down to the beach to meet the approaching boat and learn its errand.The men in the boat had nothing to do but to deliver a letter from the Director-in-chief to the commandant of the fort, and then row back again.No answer was required.When the commandant read the brief note, he made no remark.In fact, he could think of no appropriate remark to make.The missive simply informed him that at ten o'clock and eighteen minutes A.M., of that day, the first bomb from the marine forces of the Syndicate had been discharged into the waters of the harbour.At, or about, two o'clock P.M., the second bomb would be discharged at Fort Pilcher.That was all.What this extraordinary message meant could not be imagined by any officer of the garrison.If the people on board the ships were taking advantage of the earthquake, and supposed that they could induce British soldiers to believe that it had been caused by one of their bombs, then were they idiots indeed.They would fire their second shot at Fort Pilcher! This was impossible, for they had not yet fired their first shot.These Syndicate people wereevidently very tricky, and the defenders of the port must therefore be very cautious.Fort Pilcher was a very large and unfinished fortification, on a bluff on the opposite side of the harbour.Work had been discontinued on it as soon as the Syndicate's vessels had appeared off the port, for it was not desired to expose the builders and workmen to a possible bombardment.The place was now, therefore, almost deserted; but after the receipt of the Syndicate's message, the commandant feared that the enemy might throw an ordinary shell into the unfinished works, and he sent a boat across the bay to order away any workmen or others who might be lingering about the place.A little after two o'clock P.M., an instantaneous motor-bomb was discharged from Repeller No.1 into Fort Pilcher.It was set to act five seconds after impact with the object aimed at.It struck in a central portion of the unfinished fort, and having described a high curve in the air, descended not only with its own motive power, but with the force of gravitation, and penetrated deep into the earth.Five seconds later a vast brown cloud appeared on the Fort Pilcher promontory.This cloud was nearly spherical in form, with an apparent diameter of about a thousand yards.At the same instant a shock similar to that accompanying the first motor-bomb was felt in the city and surrounding country; but this was not so severe as the other, for the second bomb did not exert its force upon the underlying rocks of the region as the first one had done.