nt, and now joined the repeller.

The great ironclad battle-ship, with her lofty sides plated with nearly
two feet of solid steel, with her six great guns, each weighing more
than a hundred tons, with her armament of other guns, machine cannon,
and almost every appliance of naval warfare, with a small army of
officers and men on board, was left in charge of Crab K, of which only
a few square yards of armoured roof could be seen above the water.
This little vessel now proceeded to tow southward her vast prize,
uninjured, except that her rudder and propeller-blades were broken and
useless.

Although the engines of the crab were of enormous power, the progress
made was slow, for the Adamant was being towed stern foremost. It
would have been easier to tow the great vessel had the crab been
attached to her bow, but a ram which extended many feet under water
rendered it dangerous for a submerged vessel to attach itself in its
vicinity.

During the night the repeller kept company, although at a considerable
distance, with the captured vessel; and early the next morning her
director prepared to send to the Adamant a boat with a flag-of-truce,
and a letter demanding the surrender and subsequent evacuation of the
British ship. It was supposed that now, when the officers of the
Adamant had had time to appreciate the fact that they had no control
over the movements of their vessel; that their armament was powerless
against their enemies; that the Adamant could be towed wherever the
Syndicate chose to order, or left helpless in midocean,--they would be
obliged to admit that there was nothing for them to do but to surrender.

But events proved that no such ideas had entered the minds of the
Adamant's officers, and their action totally prevented sending a
flag-of-truce boat. As soon as it was light enough to see the repeller
the Adamant began firing great guns at her. She was too far away for
the shot to strike her, but to launch and send a boat of any kind into
a storm of shot and shell was of course impossible.

The cannon suspended over the stern of the Adamant was also again
brought into play, and shot after shot was driven down upon the towing
crab. Every ball rebounded from the spring armour, but the officer in
charge of the crab became convinced that after a time this constant
pounding, almost in the same place, would injure his vessel, and he
signalled the repeller to that effect.

The director of Repeller No. 7 ha