Page:Robert William Cole - The Struggle for Empire; A Story of the Year 2236 (1900).djvu/173

Rh from the artillery of the enemy. Ambushes were posted in all the most suitable spots, and mines were laid strong enough to destroy half a dozen ships. The Anglo-Saxon admirals were labouring with untiring energy to prepare a good stronghold that would enable them to keep the enemy in check while the fortifications at London were being strengthened. The result was that in a few weeks the moon was very strongly fortified.

As the defending lines were gradually contracted, the headquarters of the Anglo-Saxon fleet were removed from Mars to London, so that the progress of the contest could be more easily watched and its movements controlled. The main body and headquarters of the Sirian fleet were established near Jupiter, but a considerable detachment was occupied near the moon in observing the position of the Anglo-Saxons. The moon soon became the theatre of a bloody and desperate contest. The Anglo-Saxon ships lay behind their 11