Page:Robert William Cole - The Struggle for Empire; A Story of the Year 2236 (1900).djvu/105

Rh being varied at intervals by columns of purple and green flame when the great guns were discharged. When the ships were close together, flames clashed against flames, leaping up and tossing high into space like a tempest-raging ocean, and the smoke columns dashed against one another, forming walls of white vapour that quivered under the shock. Sometimes the projectiles and torpedoes clashed together, producing brilliant flashes of light.

For hour after hour the two lines continued to pound away at one another. The torpedo-nets of every vessel were soon completely torn to pieces. Then the torpedo-boats advanced and clustered like bees round the larger ships, seeking to fire their torpedoes against the most vulnerable parts. But although the nets were gone, the torpedo-men carried their lives in their hands. Directly they approached a hostile vessel the guns were levelled at them, and several boats were blown to pieces before they had time to fire a single