Page:Robert William Cole - The Struggle for Empire; A Story of the Year 2236 (1900).djvu/185

Rh to battle. Disused mines were turned into ammunition factories, and the War Bureau took up its station in a coal-mine in the north of England. Soon hundreds of ships ready armed and equipped were lying in wait in the dark depths of mines, ready to take to the air at a moment's notice. In spite of the near approach of the enemy, every detail of the interstellar ship administration was admirably organized. The people of Kairet should suffer bitterly for daring to invade the earth.

Vast as the losses had been on both sides, there was not a moment's intermission in the deadly combat. A few days after the second line of defence had collapsed, the people on the earth could see the struggle recommencing at the moon. Whenever the moon was visible, its course through the sky was followed by thousands of telescopes. They could see the lines of ships slowly crawling along the surface pouring out fire and smoke, and