Page:Robert William Cole - The Struggle for Empire; A Story of the Year 2236 (1900).djvu/72

60 rocked like the waves of a sea as the propellers whirled round, while jets of white vapour escaped from the sides. As the speed increased, a stiff breeze, that was created by the propellers, blew over the spectators. The vessels rose higher and higher, proceeding by divisions, each division being led by its flag-ship. Flora watched the Lightning with straining eyes and aching heart as it mounted into the air. The sky was darkened for miles around by the vast concourse of vessels. Higher and higher they ascended, shaking the air with the beating of their propellers, plunging upward into the awful abysses of space, rejoicing in the pride of their strength. The upper-decks were covered with officers in full uniform, and with sailors clustering like bees along the railings, taking what would be to many of them a last breath of the air of the earth. Upwards and upwards, higher and higher they mounted, the vessels looking like small specks against the sky.