d edge of this
yawning abyss; then he walked over to the almost circular body of water
which occupied the place where the fishing village had been, and into
which the waters of the bay had flowed. When this officer returned to
London he wrote a report to the effect that a ship canal, less than an
eighth of a mile long, leading from the newly formed lake at the head
of the bay, would make of this chasm, when filled by the sea, the
finest and most thoroughly protected inland basin for ships of all
sizes on the British coast. But before this report received due
official consideration the idea had been suggested and elaborated in a
dozen newspapers.

Accounts and reports of all kinds describing the destruction of
Caerdaff, and of the place in which it had stood, filled the newspapers
of the world. Photographs and pictures of Caerdaff as it had been and
as it then was were produced with marvellous rapidity, and the
earthquake bomb of the American War Syndicate was the subject of
excited conversation in every civilized country.

The British Ministry was now the calmest body of men in Europe. The
great opposition storm had died away, the great war storm had ceased,
and the wisest British statesmen saw the unmistakable path of national
policy lying plain and open before them. There was no longer time for
arguments and struggles with opponents or enemies, internal or
external. There was even no longer time for the discussion of
measures. It was the time for the adoption of a measure which
indicated itself, and which did not need discussion.

On the afternoon of the day of the bombardment of Caerdaff, Repeller
No. 11, accompanied by her crabs, steamed for the English Channel. Two
days afterward there lay off the coast at Brighton, with a white flag
floating high above her, the old Tallapoosa, now naval mistress of the
world.

Near by lay a cable boat, and constant communication by way of France
was kept up between the officers of the American Syndicate and the
repeller. In a very short time communications were opened between the
repeller and London.

When this last step became known to the public of America, almost as
much excited by the recent events as the public of England, a great
disturbance arose in certain political circles. It was argued that the
Syndicate had no right to negotiate in any way with the Government of
England; that it had been empowered to carry on a war; and that, if its
duties in this rega