Page:Robert William Cole - The Struggle for Empire; A Story of the Year 2236 (1900).djvu/160

148 could reach lay the Sirian ships vomiting forth flames and smoke and gradually drawing a network of invisible forces around the devoted fleet. Several ships tried to break through, but directly they reached the invisible barrier their machinery was paralyzed, and they lay in space like helpless logs unable to move. On either side were the discs of the two moons clearly shining. Behind them was Jupiter, with its continents and seas clearly marked, but it was impossible to reach either without destroying the blockading vessels or breaking their formation. The Anglo-Saxon admiral was fighting with his hands tied behind his back, for he could not move beyond the charmed line. So he drew up his vessels into the form of a hollow sphere and trusted to the strength of his guns. Both parties fought with desperate energy—the Sirians to keep their prestige of victory, the Anglo-Saxons to ward off defeat and save their lives. The Anglo-Saxon formation soon became