Page:Robert William Cole - The Struggle for Empire; A Story of the Year 2236 (1900).djvu/218

206 fleet formed into line with exultation, and the order was given to bombard the capital of Kairet. What followed was but a counterpart of what had previously happened at London. Drawn up in long lines, the ships hovered among the clouds, and crossed and recrossed over the terrified city, raining down death and destruction, while the lightning flashed and the thunder rolled through the air. It lasted for hours, and then the fleets withdrew from the smoking ruins and sent an envoy to demand the surrender of all the fortresses, dockyards, and important cities, and informing the Government of what had happened to their own fleet at the earth. The Government, after a short deliberation, refused to surrender. Thereupon the fleet sailed away and began to wreck the other cities. The Government was powerless to do anything to save the planet, for its fleets were all destroyed, and its energies and resources prostrated by the incredible exertions it had been making during the