Page:Robert William Cole - The Struggle for Empire; A Story of the Year 2236 (1900).djvu/117

Rh Many a huge ship electrified its rival's machinery so that it could not move, and when it was thus fascinated, as it were, tore it to pieces bit by bit. Sometimes two or more ships would hold another thus in their grip and tear it to pieces between them, and then go on and seek another victim. Thousands of men were killed by the destructive waves of the force Ednogen, which were focussed on to the ships in which they were fighting. Every now and then some huge ship rushed out of the darkness and rammed another to pieces, and then, staggering along under the shock, was perhaps rammed in its turn or had its sides torn open by torpedoes.

The scene inside many of the ships was appalling. The battle had now lasted for seventy hours without ceasing, and the men were fainting from excessive toil. The heat between the decks was overpowering, for every time a gun was discharged the air became hotter. Every