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When
night
came
on
,
Repeller
No
.
11
and
the
crabs
dropped
down
with
the
tide
,
and
lay
to
some
miles
west
of
the
scene
of
battle
.
The
fog
shut
them
in
fairly
well
,
but
,
fearful
that
torpedoes
might
be
sent
out
against
them
,
they
showed
no
lights
.
There
was
little
danger
of
collision
with
passing
merchantmen
,
for
the
English
Channel
,
at
present
,
was
deserted
by
this
class
of
vessels
.
The
next
morning
the
repeller
,
preceded
by
two
crabs
,
bearing
between
them
a
submerged
net
similar
to
that
used
at
the
Canadian
port
,
appeared
off
the
eastern
end
of
the
Isle
of
Wight
.
The
anchors
of
the
net
were
dropped
,
and
behind
it
the
repeller
took
her
place
,
and
shortly
afterward
she
sent
a
flag
-
of
-
truce
boat
to
Portsmouth
harbour
.
This
boat
carried
a
note
from
the
American
War
Syndicate
to
the
British
Government
.
In
this
note
it
was
stated
that
it
was
now
the
intention
of
the
Syndicate
to
utterly
destroy
,
by
means
of
the
instantaneous
motor
,
a
fortified
post
upon
the
British
coast
.
As
this
would
be
done
solely
for
the
purpose
of
demonstrating
the
irresistible
destructive
power
of
the
motor
-
bombs
,
it
was
immaterial
to
the
Syndicate
what
fortified
post
should
be
destroyed
,
provided
it
should
answer
the
requirements
of
the
proposed
demonstration
.
Consequently
the
British
Government
was
offered
the
opportunity
of
naming
the
fortified
place
which
should
be
destroyed
.
If
said
Government
should
decline
to
do
this
,
or
delay
the
selection
for
twenty
-
four
hours
,
the
Syndicate
would
itself
decide
upon
the
place
to
be
operated
upon
.
Every
one
in
every
branch
of
the
British
Government
,
and
,
in
fact
,
nearly
every
thinking
person
in
the
British
islands
,
had
been
racking
his
brains
,
or
her
brains
,
that
night
,
over
the
astounding
situation
;
and
the
note
of
the
Syndicate
only
added
to
the
perturbation
of
the
Government
.
There
was
a
strong
feeling
in
official
circles
that
the
insolent
little
enemy
must
be
crushed
,
if
the
whole
British
navy
should
have
to
rush
upon
it
,
and
all
sink
together
in
a
common
grave
.
But
there
were
cooler
and
more
prudent
brains
at
the
head
of
affairs
;
and
these
had
already
decided
that
the
contest
between
the
old
engines
of
war
and
the
new
ones
was
entirely
one
-
sided
.
The
instincts
of
good
government
dictated
to
them
that
they
should
be
extremely
wary
and
circumspect
during
the
further
continuance
of
this
unexampled
war
.
Therefore
,
when
the
note
of
the
Syndicate
was
considered
,
it
was
agreed
that
the
time
had
come
when
good
statesmanship
and
wise
diplomacy
would
be
more
valuable
to
the
nation
than
torpedoes
,
armoured
ships
,
or
heavy
guns
.
There
was
not
the
slightest
doubt
that
the
country
would
disagree
with
the
Government
,
but
on
the
latter
lay
the
responsibility
of
the
country
’
s
safety
.
There
was
nothing
,
in
the
opinion
of
the
ablest
naval
officers
,
to
prevent
the
Syndicate
’
s
fleet
from
coming
up
the
Thames
.
Instantaneous
motor
-
bombs
could
sweep
away
all
forts
and
citadels
,
and
explode
and
destroy
all
torpedo
defences
,
and
London
might
lie
under
the
guns
of
the
repeller
.
In
consequence
of
this
view
of
the
state
of
affairs
,
an
answer
was
sent
to
the
Syndicate
’
s
note
,
asking
that
further
time
be
given
for
the
consideration
of
the
situation
,
and
suggesting
that
an
exhibition
of
the
power
of
the
motor
-
bomb
was
not
necessary
,
as
sufficient
proof
of
this
had
been
given
in
the
destruction
of
the
Canadian
forts
,
the
annihilation
of
the
Craglevin
,
and
the
extraordinary
results
of
the
discharge
of
said
bombs
on
the
preceding
day
.
To
this
a
reply
was
sent
from
the
office
of
the
Syndicate
in
New
York
,
by
means
of
a
cable
boat
from
the
French
coast
,
that
on
no
account
could
their
purpose
be
altered
or
their
propositions
modified
.
Although
the
British
Government
might
be
convinced
of
the
power
of
the
Syndicate
’
s
motor
-
bombs
,
it
was
not
the
case
with
the
British
people
,
for
it
was
yet
popularly
disbelieved
that
motor
-
bombs
existed
.
This
disbelief
the
Syndicate
was
determined
to
overcome
,
not
only
for
the
furtherance
of
its
own
purposes
,
but
to
prevent
the
downfall
of
the
present
British
Ministry
,
and
a
probable
radical
change
in
the
Government
.
That
such
a
political
revolution
,
as
undesirable
to
the
Syndicate
as
to
cool
-
headed
and
sensible
Englishmen
,
was
imminent
,
there
could
be
no
doubt
.
The
growing
feeling
of
disaffection
,
almost
amounting
to
disloyalty
,
not
only
in
the
opposition
party
,
but
among
those
who
had
hitherto
been
firm
adherents
of
the
Government
,
was
mainly
based
upon
the
idea
that
the
present
British
rulers
had
allowed
themselves
to
be
frightened
by
mines
and
torpedoes
,
artfully
placed
and
exploded
.
Therefore
the
Syndicate
intended
to
set
right
the
public
mind
upon
this
subject
.
The
note
concluded
by
earnestly
urging
the
designation
,
without
loss
of
time
,
of
a
place
of
operations
.
This
answer
was
received
in
London
in
the
evening
,
and
all
night
it
was
the
subject
of
earnest
and
anxious
deliberation
in
the
Government
offices
.
It
was
at
last
decided
,
amid
great
opposition
,
that
the
Syndicate
’
s
alternative
must
be
accepted
,
for
it
would
be
the
height
of
folly
to
allow
the
repeller
to
bombard
any
port
she
should
choose
.
When
this
conclusion
had
been
reached
,
the
work
of
selecting
a
place
for
the
proposed
demonstration
of
the
American
Syndicate
occupied
but
little
time
.
The
task
was
not
difficult
.
Nowhere
in
Great
Britain
was
there
a
fortified
spot
of
so
little
importance
as
Caerdaff
,
on
the
west
coast
of
Wales
.
Caerdaff
consisted
of
a
large
fort
on
a
promontory
,
and
an
immense
castellated
structure
on
the
other
side
of
a
small
bay
,
with
a
little
fishing
village
at
the
head
of
said
bay
.
The
castellated
structure
was
rather
old
,
the
fortress
somewhat
less
so
;
and
both
had
long
been
considered
useless
,
as
there
was
no
probability
that
an
enemy
would
land
at
this
point
on
the
coast
.
Caerdaff
was
therefore
selected
as
the
spot
to
be
operated
upon
.
No
one
could
for
a
moment
imagine
that
the
Syndicate
had
mined
this
place
;
and
if
it
should
be
destroyed
by
motor
-
bombs
,
it
would
prove
to
the
country
that
the
Government
had
not
been
frightened
by
the
tricks
of
a
crafty
enemy
.
An
hour
after
the
receipt
of
the
note
in
which
it
was
stated
that
Caerdaff
had
been
selected
,
the
Syndicate
’
s
fleet
started
for
that
place
.
The
crabs
were
elevated
to
cruising
height
,
the
repeller
taken
in
tow
,
and
by
the
afternoon
of
the
next
day
the
fleet
was
lying
off
Caerdaff
.
A
note
was
sent
on
shore
to
the
officer
in
command
,
stating
that
the
bombardment
would
begin
at
ten
o
’
clock
in
the
morning
of
the
next
day
but
one
,
and
requesting
that
information
of
the
hour
appointed
be
instantly
transmitted
to
London
.
When
this
had
been
done
,
the
fleet
steamed
six
or
seven
miles
off
shore
,
where
it
lay
to
or
cruised
about
for
two
nights
and
a
day
.
As
soon
as
the
Government
had
selected
Caerdaff
for
bombardment
,
immediate
measures
were
taken
to
remove
the
small
garrisons
and
the
inhabitants
of
the
fishing
village
from
possible
danger
.
When
the
Syndicate
’
s
note
was
received
by
the
commandant
of
the
fort
,
he
was
already
in
receipt
of
orders
from
the
War
Office
to
evacuate
the
fortifications
,
and
to
superintend
the
removal
of
the
fishermen
and
their
families
to
a
point
of
safety
farther
up
the
coast
.
Caerdaff
was
a
place
difficult
of
access
by
land
,
the
nearest
railroad
stations
being
fifteen
or
twenty
miles
away
;
but
on
the
day
after
the
arrival
of
the
Syndicate
’
s
fleet
in
the
offing
,
thousands
of
people
made
their
way
to
this
part
of
the
country
,
anxious
to
see
—
if
perchance
they
might
find
an
opportunity
to
safely
see
—
what
might
happen
at
ten
o
’
clock
the
next
morning
.
Officers
of
the
army
and
navy
,
Government
officials
,
press
correspondents
,
in
great
numbers
,
and
curious
and
anxious
observers
of
all
classes
,
hastened
to
the
Welsh
coast
.
The
little
towns
where
the
visitors
left
the
trains
were
crowded
to
overflowing
,
and
every
possible
conveyance
,
by
which
the
mountains
lying
back
of
Caerdaff
could
be
reached
,
was
eagerly
secured
,
many
persons
,
however
,
being
obliged
to
depend
upon
their
own
legs
.
Soon
after
sunrise
of
the
appointed
day
the
forts
,
the
village
,
and
the
surrounding
lower
country
were
entirely
deserted
,
and
every
point
of
vantage
on
the
mountains
lying
some
miles
back
from
the
coast
was
occupied
by
excited
spectators
,
nearly
every
one
armed
with
a
field
-
glass
.
A
few
of
the
guns
from
the
fortifications
were
transported
to
an
overlooking
height
,
in
order
that
they
might
be
brought
into
action
in
case
the
repeller
,
instead
of
bombarding
,
should
send
men
in
boats
to
take
possession
of
the
evacuated
fortifications
,
or
should
attempt
any
mining
operations
.
The
gunners
for
this
battery
were
stationed
at
a
safe
place
to
the
rear
,
whence
they
could
readily
reach
their
guns
if
necessary
.
The
next
day
was
one
of
supreme
importance
to
the
Syndicate
.
On
this
day
it
must
make
plain
to
the
world
,
not
only
what
the
motor
-
bomb
could
do
,
but
that
the
motor
-
bomb
did
what
was
done
.
Before
leaving
the
English
Channel
the
director
of
Repeller
No
.
11
had
received
telegraphic
advices
from
both
Europe
and
America
,
indicating
the
general
drift
of
public
opinion
in
regard
to
the
recent
sea
-
fight
;
and
,
besides
these
,
many
English
and
continental
papers
had
been
brought
to
him
from
the
French
coast
.
From
all
these
the
director
perceived
that
the
cause
of
the
Syndicate
had
in
a
certain
way
suffered
from
the
manner
in
which
the
battle
in
the
channel
had
been
conducted
.
Every
newspaper
urged
that
if
the
repeller
carried
guns
capable
of
throwing
the
bombs
which
the
Syndicate
professed
to
use
,
there
was
no
reason
why
every
ship
in
the
British
fleet
should
not
have
been
destroyed
.
But
as
the
repeller
had
not
fired
a
single
shot
at
the
fleet
,
and
as
the
battle
had
been
fought
entirely
by
the
crabs
,
there
was
every
reason
to
believe
that
if
there
were
such
things
as
motor
-
guns
,
their
range
was
very
short
,
not
as
great
as
that
of
the
ordinary
dynamite
cannon
.
The
great
risk
run
by
one
of
the
crabs
in
order
to
disable
a
dynamite
gun
-
boat
seemed
an
additional
proof
of
this
.
It
was
urged
that
the
explosions
in
the
water
might
have
been
produced
by
torpedoes
;
that
the
torpedo
-
boat
which
had
been
destroyed
was
so
near
the
repeller
that
an
ordinary
shell
was
sufficient
to
accomplish
the
damage
that
had
been
done
.
To
gainsay
these
assumptions
was
imperative
on
the
Syndicate
’
s
forces
.
To
firmly
establish
the
prestige
of
the
instantaneous
motor
was
the
object
of
the
war
.
Crabs
were
of
but
temporary
service
.
Any
nation
could
build
vessels
like
them
,
and
there
were
many
means
of
destroying
them
.
The
spring
armour
was
a
complete
defence
against
ordinary
artillery
,
but
it
was
not
a
defence
against
submarine
torpedoes
.
The
claims
of
the
Syndicate
could
be
firmly
based
on
nothing
but
the
powers
of
absolute
annihilation
possessed
by
the
instantaneous
motor
-
bomb
.
About
nine
o
’
clock
on
the
appointed
morning
,
Repeller
No
.
11
,
much
to
the
surprise
of
the
spectators
on
the
high
grounds
with
field
-
glasses
and
telescopes
,
steamed
away
from
Caerdaff
.
What
this
meant
nobody
knew
,
but
the
naval
military
observers
immediately
suspected
that
the
Syndicate
’
s
vessel
had
concentrated
attention
upon
Caerdaff
in
order
to
go
over
to
Ireland
to
do
some
sort
of
mischief
there
.
It
was
presumed
that
the
crabs
accompanied
her
,
but
as
they
were
now
at
their
fighting
depth
it
was
impossible
to
see
them
at
so
great
a
distance
.
But
it
was
soon
perceived
that
Repeller
No
.
11
had
no
intention
of
running
away
,
nor
of
going
over
to
Ireland
.
From
slowly
cruising
about
four
or
five
miles
off
shore
,
she
had
steamed
westward
until
she
had
reached
a
point
which
,
according
to
the
calculations
of
her
scientific
corps
,
was
nine
marine
miles
from
Caerdaff
.
There
she
lay
to
against
a
strong
breeze
from
the
east
.
It
was
not
yet
ten
o
’
clock
when
the
officer
in
charge
of
the
starboard
gun
remarked
to
the
director
that
he
suppose
that
it
would
not
be
necessary
to
give
the
smoke
signals
,
as
had
been
done
in
the
channel
,
as
now
all
the
crabs
were
lying
near
them
.
The
director
reflected
a
moment
,
and
then
ordered
that
the
signals
should
be
given
at
every
discharge
of
the
gun
,
and
that
the
columns
of
black
smoke
should
be
shot
up
to
their
greatest
height
.
At
precisely
ten
o
’
clock
,
up
rose
from
Repeller
No
.
11
two
tall
jets
of
black
smoke
.
Up
rose
from
the
promontory
of
Caerdaff
,
a
heavy
gray
cloud
,
like
an
immense
balloon
,
and
then
the
people
on
the
hill
-
tops
and
highlands
felt
a
sharp
shock
of
the
ground
and
rocks
beneath
them
,
and
heard
the
sound
of
a
terrible
but
momentary
grinding
crush
.
As
the
cloud
began
to
settle
,
it
was
borne
out
to
sea
by
the
wind
,
and
then
it
was
revealed
that
the
fortifications
of
Caerdaff
had
disappeared
.
In
ten
minutes
there
was
another
smoke
signal
,
and
a
great
cloud
over
the
castellated
structure
on
the
other
side
of
the
bay
.
The
cloud
passed
away
,
leaving
a
vacant
space
on
the
other
side
of
the
bay
.
The
second
shock
sent
a
panic
through
the
crowd
of
spectators
.
The
next
earthquake
bomb
might
strike
among
them
.
Down
the
eastern
slopes
ran
hundreds
of
them
,
leaving
only
a
few
of
the
bravest
civilians
,
the
reporters
of
the
press
,
and
the
naval
and
military
men
.
The
next
motor
-
bomb
descended
into
the
fishing
village
,
the
comminuted
particles
of
which
,
being
mostly
of
light
material
,
floated
far
out
to
sea
.
The
detachment
of
artillerists
who
had
been
deputed
to
man
the
guns
on
the
heights
which
commanded
the
bay
had
been
ordered
to
fall
back
to
the
mountains
as
soon
as
it
had
been
seen
that
it
was
not
the
intention
of
the
repeller
to
send
boats
on
shore
.
The
most
courageous
of
the
spectators
trembled
a
little
when
the
fourth
bomb
was
discharged
,
for
it
came
farther
inland
,
and
struck
the
height
on
which
the
battery
had
been
placed
,
removing
all
vestiges
of
the
guns
,
caissons
,
and
the
ledge
of
rock
on
which
they
had
stood
.
The
motor
-
bombs
which
the
repeller
was
now
discharging
were
of
the
largest
size
and
greatest
power
,
and
a
dozen
more
of
them
were
discharged
at
intervals
of
a
few
minutes
.
The
promontory
on
which
the
fortifications
had
stood
was
annihilated
,
and
the
waters
of
the
bay
swept
over
its
foundations
.
Soon
afterward
the
head
of
the
bay
seemed
madly
rushing
out
to
sea
,
but
quickly
surged
back
to
fill
the
chasm
which
yawned
at
the
spot
where
the
village
had
been
.
The
dense
clouds
were
now
upheaved
at
such
short
intervals
that
the
scene
of
devastation
was
completely
shut
out
from
the
observers
on
the
hills
;
but
every
few
minutes
they
felt
a
sickening
shock
,
and
heard
a
momentary
and
horrible
crash
and
hiss
which
seemed
to
fill
all
the
air
.
The
instantaneous
motor
-
bombs
were
tearing
up
the
sea
-
board
,
and
grinding
it
to
atoms
.
It
was
not
yet
noon
when
the
bombardment
ceased
.
No
more
puffs
of
black
smoke
came
up
from
the
distant
repeller
,
and
the
vast
spreading
mass
of
clouds
moved
seaward
,
dropping
down
upon
St
.
George
’
s
Channel
in
a
rain
of
stone
dust
.
Then
the
repeller
steamed
shoreward
,
and
when
she
was
within
three
or
four
miles
of
the
coast
she
ran
up
a
large
white
flag
in
token
that
her
task
was
ended
.
This
sign
that
the
bombardment
had
ceased
was
accepted
in
good
faith
;
and
as
some
of
the
military
and
naval
men
had
carefully
noted
that
each
puff
from
the
repeller
was
accompanied
by
a
shock
,
it
was
considered
certain
that
all
the
bombs
which
had
been
discharged
had
acted
,
and
that
,
consequently
,
no
further
danger
was
to
be
apprehended
from
them
.
In
spite
of
this
announcement
many
of
the
spectators
would
not
leave
their
position
on
the
hills
,
but
a
hundred
or
more
of
curious
and
courageous
men
ventured
down
into
the
plain
.
That
part
of
the
sea
-
coast
where
Caerdaff
had
been
was
a
new
country
,
about
which
men
wandered
slowly
and
cautiously
with
sudden
exclamations
,
of
amazement
and
awe
.
