Page:Robert William Cole - The Struggle for Empire; A Story of the Year 2236 (1900).djvu/119

Rh forces that could pass through metal like air would clash together inside a ship, and then the compartments would be filled with sheets of flame that burnt the inmates to death.

The time passed on until the fight had raged for ninety hours. Admirals and captains fell down at their posts overcome with nervous prostration that resulted from the long duration of the battle. Some of the latter were relieved by their lieutenants, but others persisted in sticking to their posts, until they went raving mad from the tremendous strain. They were carried out of their metal spheres, and other officers took their places. But neither side thought of retiring from the battle area even for a short respite. It was a struggle to see on which side the brain-power of the commanders would hold out longest.

The carnage was terrible on board the Lightning. She had been kept among the reserves during the early hours of the