_ Again the forceps opened wide; again there was a
rush; and this time the huge jaws closed upon the
rapidly revolving screw-propeller. There was a
tremendous crash, and the small but massive crab turned
over so far that for an instant one of its sides was
plainly visible above the water. The blades of the
propeller were crushed and shivered; those parts of the
steamer's engines connecting with the propeller-shaft
were snapped and rent apart, while the propeller-
shaft itself was broken by the violent stoppage.
The crab, which had quickly righted, now backed,
still holding the crushed propeller in its iron grasp,
and as it moved away from the Scarabaeus, it
extracted about forty feet of its propeller-shaft;
then, opening its massive jaws, it allowed the useless
mass of iron to drop to the bottom of the sea.
Every man on board the Scarabaeus was wild with
amazement and excitement. Few could comprehend what
had happened, but this very quickly became evident. So
far as motive power was concerned, the Scarabaeus was
totally, disabled. She could not direct her course,
for her rudder was gone, her propeller was gone, her
engines were useless, and she could do no more than
float as wind or tide might move her. Moreover, there
was a jagged hole in her stern where the shaft had
been, and through this the water was pouring into the
vessel. As a man-of-war the Scarabaeus was worthless.
Orders now came fast from Repeller No. 1, which had
moved nearer to the scene of conflict. It was to be
supposed that the disabled ship was properly furnished
with bulk-heads, so that the water would penetrate
no farther than the stern compartment, and that,
therefore, she was in no danger of sinking. Crab A was
ordered to make fast to the bow of the Scarabaeus,
and tow her toward two men-of-war who were rapidly
approaching from the harbour.
This proceeding astonished the commander and
officers of the Scarabaeus almost as much as the
extraordinary attack which had been made upon their
ship. They had expected a demand to surrender and haul
down their flag; but the Director-in-chief on board
Repeller No. 1 was of the opinion that with her
propeller extracted it mattered little what flag she
flew. His work with the Scarabaeus was over; for it
had been ordered by the Syndicate that its vessels
should not encumber themselves with prizes.
Towed by the powerful crab, which apparently had no
fear that its disabled adversary might fire upon it,
the Scarabaeus moved toward the harbour, and when it
had come within a quarter of a mile of the foremost
British vessel, Crab A cast off and steamed back to
Repeller No. 1.
The other English vessels soon came up, and
each lay to and sent a boat to the Scarabaeus. After
half an hour's consultation, in which the amazement of
those on board the damaged vessel was communicated to
the officers and crews of her two consorts, it was
determined that the smaller of these should tow the
disabled ship into port, while the other one, in
company with a man-of-war just coming out of the
harbour, should make an attack upon Repeller No. 1.
It had been plainly proved that ordinary shot and
shell had no effect upon this craft; but it had not
been proved that she could withstand the rams of
powerful ironclads. If this vessel, that apparently
carried no guns, or, at least, had used none, could be
crushed, capsized, sunk, or in any way put out of the
fight, it was probable that the dangerous submerged
nautical machine would not care to remain in these
waters. If it remained it must be destroyed by torpedoes.
Signals were exchanged between the two English
vessels, and in a very short time they were steaming
toward the repeller. It was a dangerous thing for two
vessels of their size to come close enough together for
both to ram an enemy at the same time, but it was
determined to take the risks and do this, if possible;
for the destruction of the repeller was obviously the
first duty in hand.
As the two men-of-war rapidly approached Repeller
No. 1, they kept up a steady fire upon her; for if in
this way they could damage her, the easier would be
their task. With a firm reliance upon the efficacy of
the steel-spring armour, the Director-in-chief felt no
fear of the enemy's shot and shell; but he was not at
all willing that his vessel should be rammed, for the
consequences would probably be disastrous. Accordingly
he did not wait for the approach of the two vessels,
but steering seaward, he signalled for the other crab.
When Crab B made its appearance, puffing its little
black jets of smoke, as it answered the signals of the
Director-in-chief, the commanders of the two British
vessels were surprised. They had imagined that there
was only one of these strange and terrible enemies, and
had supposed that she would be afraid to make her
peculiar attack upon one of them, because while doing
so she would expose herself to the danger of being run
down by the other. But the presence of two of these
almost submerged engines of destruction entirely
changed the situation.
But the commanders of the British ships were brave
men. They had started to run down the strangely
armoured American craft, and run her down they would,
if they could. They put on more steam, and went ahead
at greater speed. In such a furious onslaught the
crabs might not dare to attack them.
But they did not understand the nature nor the
powers of these enemies. In less than twenty minutes
Crab A had laid hold of one of the men-of-war, and Crab
B of the other. The rudders of both were shattered and
torn away; and while the blades of one propeller were
crushed to pieces, the other, with nearly half its
shaft, was drawn out and dropped into the ocean.
Helplessly the two men-of-war rose and fell upon the
waves.
In obedience to orders from the repeller, each crab
took hold of one of the disabled vessels, and towed it
near the mouth of the harbour, where it was left.
The city was now in a state of feverish excitement,
which was intensified by the fact that a majority of
the people did not understand what had happened, while
those to whom this had been made plain could not
comprehend why such a thing should have been allowed to
happen. Three of Her Majesty's ships of war, equipped
and ready for action, had sailed out of the harbour,
and an apparently insignificant enemy, without firing a
gun, had put them into such a condition that they were
utterly unfit for service, and must be towed into a dry
dock. How could the Government, the municipality, the
army, or the navy explain this?
The anxiety, the excitement, the nervous desire to
know what had happened, and what might be expected
next, spread that evening to every part of the Dominion
reached by telegraph.
The military authorities in charge of the defences
of the city were as much disturbed and amazed by what
had happened as any civilian could possibly be, but
they had no fears for the safety of the place, for the
enemy's vessels could not possibly enter, nor even
approach, the harbour. The fortifications on the
heights mounted guns much heavier than those on the
men-of-war, and shots from these fired from an
elevation might sink even those "underwater devils."
But, more than on the forts, they relied upon their
admirable system of torpedoes and submarine batteries.
With these in position and ready for action, as they
now were, it was impossible for an enemy's vessel,
floating on the water or under it, to enter the harbour
without certain destruction.
Bulletins to this effect were posted in the city,
and somewhat allayed the popular anxiety, although many
people, who were fearful of what might happen next,
left by the evening trains for the interior. That
night the news of this extraordinary affair was cabled
to Europe, and thence back to the United States, and
all over the world. In many quarters the account was
disbelieved, and in no quarter was it thoroughly
understood, for it must be borne in mind that the
methods of operation employed by the crabs were not
evident to those on board the disabled vessels. But
everywhere there was the greatest desire to know what
would be done next. _