Stories of Inventors - The Adventures of Inventors and Engineers by Russell Doubleday
page 100 of 140 (71%)
page 100 of 140 (71%)
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With haste born of desperation the crew worked to get ready for action, and when all was ready, each man in his place, guns loaded, firing lanyards in hand, gun-trainers at the wheels, all was still--no command to fire was given. From the signal-boys to the firemen in the stokehole--for news travels fast aboard ship--all were expecting the muffled report and the rending, tearing explosion of a torpedo under the ship's bottom. The terrible power of the torpedo was known to all, and the dread that filled the hearts of that waiting crew could not be put into words. Of course it was a false alarm. The torpedo-boat flew the Stars and Stripes, but the heavy smoke concealed it, and the officers, perceiving the opportunities for testing the men, let it be believed that a boat belonging to the enemy was bearing down on them. The crews of vessels engaged in future wars will have, not only swifter, surer torpedo-boats to menace them, but even more dreadful foes. The conning towers of the submarines show but a foot or two above the surface--a sinister black spot on the water, like the dorsal fin of a shark, that suggests but does not reveal the cruel power below; for an instant the knob lingers above the surface while the steersman gets his bearings, and then it sinks in a swirling eddy, leaving no mark showing in what direction it has travelled. Then the crew of the exposed warship wait and wonder with a sickening cold fear in their hearts how soon the crash will come, and pray that the deadly submarine torpedo will miss its mark. |
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