Page:Robert William Cole - The Struggle for Empire; A Story of the Year 2236 (1900).djvu/131

Rh crashing, rending, tearing. Some of the ships met bow to bow and ram to ram, and quivered through and through with the shock. Others sent their rams along the sides of their opponents, ripping up the thick armour plating as if it had been paper and laying bare the palpitating machinery and honey-combed compartments. Many charged into the battleships broadside and sent their rams right through the double walls of metal plating, through the engine-rooms, and out again the other side, bearing the stricken ship along with them by the momentum they had accumulated. A few that had been previously severely handled folded up under the shock and were reduced to a state of utter powerlessness. Many of the magazines exploded from the shock, blowing everything around them to pieces and making huge chasms in the fighting masses. The space around was filled with blinding flashes, sheets of flame, and clouds of smoke. The charging vessels still crashed