Page:Robert William Cole - The Struggle for Empire; A Story of the Year 2236 (1900).djvu/59

Rh numerous transports filled with soldiers, and a countless host of small craft that performed the same functions as the torpedo-boats of the old days of war on the sea.

The whole of the armament was divided into ten divisions, each commanded by an admiral who was, in his turn, with certain limitations, under the orders of the Admiral-in-Chief who commanded the whole. The divisions were further subdivided, and each subdivision was under a sub-admiral, so that the movements of the fleet could be controlled better. Nearly vessels were ready to join the fleet at Neptune, and then the combined fleets were to dash into space and seek their foes. An arrangement was made under which the vessels that left the various dockyards within the next two months were to form second, third, and fourth lines of defence. Those from the outer planets were to form a second line of defence about the orbit of