ith her head to the wind she
opened fire upon the repeller. The latter vessel could easily have
sailed out of the range of a motionless enemy, but her orders forbade
this. Her director had been instructed by the Syndicate to expose his
vessel to the fire of the Adamant's heavy guns. Accordingly the
repeller steamed nearer, and turned her broadside toward the British
ship.

Scarcely had this been done when the two great bow guns of the Adamant
shook the air with tremendous roars, each hurling over the sea nearly a
ton of steel. One of these great shot passed over the repeller, but
the other struck her armoured side fairly amidship. There was a crash
and scream of creaking steel, and Repeller No. 7 rolled over to
windward as if she had been struck by a heavy sea. In a moment she
righted and shot ahead, and, turning, presented her port side to the
enemy. Instant examination of the armour on her other side showed that
the two banks of springs were uninjured, and that not an air-buffer had
exploded or failed to spring back to its normal length.

Firing from the Adamant now came thick and fast, the crab, in obedience
to signals, turning her about so as to admit the firing of some heavy
guns mounted amidships. Three enormous solid shot struck the repeller
at different points on her starboard armour without inflicting damage,
while the explosion of several shells which hit her had no more effect
upon her elastic armour than the impact of the solid shot.

It was the desire of the Syndicate not only to demonstrate to its own
satisfaction the efficiency of its spring armour, but to convince Great
Britain that her heaviest guns on her mightiest battle-ships could have
no effect upon its armoured vessels. To prove the absolute superiority
of their means of offence and defence was the supreme object of the
Syndicate. For this its members studied and worked by day and by
night; for this they poured out their millions; for this they waged
war. To prove what they claimed would be victory.

When Repeller No. 7 had sustained the heavy fire of the Adamant for
about half an hour, it was considered that the strength of her armour
had been sufficiently demonstrated; and, with a much lighter heart than
when he had turned her broadside to the Adamant, her director gave
orders that she should steam out of the range of the guns of the
British ship. During the cannonade Crab J had quietly slipped away
from the vicinity of the Adama