Page:Robert William Cole - The Struggle for Empire; A Story of the Year 2236 (1900).djvu/123

Rh were torn and riddled by shot until they looked like a sieve; but the machinery was still intact, so she could still hold on her way. When the ninety-fifth hour came, Alec was sent for by the captain. He entered the metal sphere, and found him looking worn and pale and very grave. At his feet lay two lieutenants, who had fallen down at their posts, exhausted by the long duration of the conflict.

'Things are going very bad with us,' he said, in a low voice, as he signed to Alec to take charge of a wheel. 'We are outnumbered; they are too many for us.'

Hour after hour went slowly by, while the captain still worked the ship with the same calm precision. The guns still continued to fire, but the broadsides were not nearly so strong as they had been at first. The scene between the decks was frightful. The guns were dismounted from their carriages, which were twisted into every conceivable shape. Fragments of human bodies were strewn about everywhere, and