Show IM 4 nt f 1 A I 1 copyright 1915 by J W muller all rights reserved A narrative fact slora based authoritatively on the inexorable mathematics of war what can de be done to oppose an invading army with our actual present resources in regulars trained militia untrained citizens coast defenses field artillery and all other weapons of defense CHAPTER IV continued SYNOPSIS owing to impending war the united wales by a coalition of 0 powers pott era of i europe und anti asa the mobilization of 0 our rel regular fular and volunteer forces Is ordered mhd national authorities find that ow united el states la is unprepared A iu buff go f 0 reign led fleet ot of invasion la is reported co 8 in length ulo united isaida navy i losea oses in battle tho coalition fleet ee t appears ort off tho new una eni land horizon arid america becomes panic astric en A volunteer aviator scouting along thu atlantic coast discovers the lie coalition neet fleet on off now bedford Ue lord mans blass thirty of 0 tile thu transports tron are seen been near nantucket island la lanil standing in toward block island tho the invaders tako take block island nantucket and bl marthas arthas vineyard aril aral warn tho population not to resist they bombard with their the coast of 0 nw new england below cape cod the cities lind lulu han lied their mobs moba with lou ion cordons cordona of if silent stout unimaginative police and with bremen who brought out clanging and hose on oil a dreadnought in ili tile the van mil of tile tho convoying fleet stood the admiral tit tho the armada ile he was speaking with the ships captain ns as they paced up and down the bridge everywhere enormously long poll hanck blaitt lennon thrust their supple bodies out of turrets like the peering leads or of ser ner pan petas ta the guns of the secondary bat teries let lea looked out from bov to stern everywhere stood ivers and men tit lit quarters yet thero was a placid strangely peaceful thew holo olo gray erny tall bristling machine much lne for its appeal alive it might have been a pleasure plea auro yacht its it lovely shore the adint ral wilt was saying borne beautiful and charming people I 1 was delightfully fully entertained within qc 4 of where we re land it deew 4 a lough return for hospitality but bill one does for ones country what ant one would not do the circling destroyers were coming tit nt the still ship the captein leaped to ill ohp rall rail before ha fie rot got there the port buttery battery crashed A sIgu olman pointed ted tit t the water vater fifty yards off something like a staring starl ni hooded eye cie baal looked from the sea aea for it moment it was the dinst thing tile tho sign signalman alInan saw on earth the rhe dreadnought shuddered while its cumi were still tiring it lifted with it jerk as aa it 11 would lift if caught by tin nn upward swing un der the jaw A grent queerly muffled explosion shook it for perhaps ier lap it ala mla minute it tore along under tinder the impetus of its own speed but it did not move smoothly it jolted like a carl going over a rough rond then it began to topple over and over it leaned slowly fast faster the dreadnoughts crew was clinging like men el laging to it steel bleed cliff holding fast fant to everything that would rive give foothold or hund hand grip on the inclined leek deck A signal climbed along the toppling mart maat then with a thunder of breaking metal volleying voile ing into the sea the ship fell full on lier her side and went vent down in a hissing breaking son sea that hat instantly vat gray with ashes tin and multicolored ti colored with ft ath oil swain awain COO men ron kone tame near them tile the drell dread li lio lighta lust signal had bevia the order to keel on off and the big fleet was weaving waving in ili and out tit nt top lot speed in fix a maneuver long once perfected to escape other nt taki from the invisible things par far astern roved tile the guns again this time fline tin the alert destroyers ind not missed misled their aim A peris ope 11 alip kenred presently hon how pier elor little spreading alks rf or oil staiti on oil the surface and v i ted awl and more floit flouted ted upward and si M ad not for a moment lind the fleet fallen into dit disorder order cven while the de ct wert were picking up tits eliat v lint sur survivors iv they could land ler dreadnought hoisted it flag as admiral lit in chice of the rue one ulio 1010 lay under tinder the bright gruen water A speed cone went up anil and mir warships shIps nim convoy full alipid unit half tin an hour later tin fill peris periscopes popes of two wo bobbed up far behind fleet their gray shapes shape arose anro ae streaming the manholes opened and radii out into tile Kun sunlight light im giitl I 1 drilling in kit great breaths of fresh air they followed the ships toward the louit lou it one of then them hoisted it a HS apparatus and ami to t vall all it vas na n weak call that tind tu to bo be repeated again lind and again then montauk point heard over a i appu rutus and received and began to mend end on to new york k and tile the bulletins told that antimarine my M 31 y 9 had bad nuntz the alie admirals flagship that 03 0 3 had sunk a destroyer and that submarine 01 0 1 lad had beta lost Vict victorya oryl victory Vict victory oryl ran the news they knew that it was not victory those grent great anito anxious us crowds that stopped oil nil traffic that day in nil all tho of koforth america dut but for i i i f JI ottavy any were vere unta 3 niia alicy chevren biti forgot the blow bit grip of irresistible power tant was waa clotilie clot liiK ilig in ill on oil their eastern seacoast seii coast not lot 1 u tw be nut not even eien to lo bo be halted baited the rl li ii lind tied ried from tile is mil c it cities wit tile others remained there its nothing else fur for then them tu to do alv alliy lit in their countless count lesa miles of streets find argued und and prophesied just is as they abey hall done tit nl ways beatral lit in me sort soft dusk on tile laland island mill and coast there was fulling rea hen and d 1 ruin I urns of iron 4 treatus of lie alre streams sti earns or of scream fell am fill burst lii things S things i struck tile land mid and into it III like e beasts ix ansta biehm and burtt burst blasting awa away for eats mul houses and ruen men in crimson ahil lilii frH that plunged into towlie tow nud and 11 ted anti pulled iowa down walls und towers things that darted nt at power khints ond and darkened darke iud tile world an it in t burst I 1 ur at 11 into ill it towns ow us with ft kb llerve tire hie and set act the world might tu ru ill alic men tit nt the lip receiving of wired it wag vu its in it if there were erv coming to to tho thom them m oil mif lla din of terror nero flere wt were ro telephone messages that broke off it in tile anti were noer never to bp be ro re on 4 e arth here were toles inell tivit stopped sudden ly IY tind hol left the wire drad dead its ita for end dangling where it shelf had bud torn down the poles from hilltops far inland came words of nr burning towns rod red in ili the country below from somewhere unknown from fionia some ome body unknown crime one oil word over n i I 1 ele I 1 lilone ilia bantly went out of commission it was waa godl in the of tile the now new laKSh ship lp sat the now new thu the was aa slink ing in bilth the explosions from its ita yec see andary butteries batteries but the cabin faiq or derly will sedate A shaded light was wag sti laing on oil it 11 chart another hour of this 11 said the ad atral nit niti nirl I I 1 think tile ho mill const will be nicely cleared for the landing n ile 8 selected n elgar cigar from fioro its ita box nud and lit it carefully en re fully the hist first american noll noil on which the invader set act foot was ivas not on oil the mainland block islands men and bomel batool ou on mohegan bluff and beacon mil 1111 and clay lend watching their sky 11 ky nil with topa top and enemy alaka flaka und their sen se oppressed oppress eil by enemy craft amoni among those who stood there that day were descends des descendants cenda tits of men who lind fought lit ill sen sell lit in every american america w war ar some were there who could boast that their ancestors had bad crept into long island sound lu in little sloops sloop and even cien tit in rowing bouts boat 9 to harry tall kings icings ships strong hearted like their fore fath ers era were these men tb rby y looked out on their beset horizon and do doubled bled their sunburned haika into ion ing to get emong the foe aith ship to ship abbl bbl gun to gun nud and tile battle tag flag of america shining this was no tamo IOPU population lation to be terrified terrin cd like it driven herd smacks men were these accustomed to looking ull unafraid afraid luto into the black of storm sword fisher tuen were here bure who went dally daily without a second thought bought to to tight light the little lithe Hp earsman of the sea nen in bin big 0 own wn element A cruiser rushed their laland island acary with turreted haa h aa und and broad ide bide battea s tail lull with altti laced iron fruit must nuil ind wl funnels anti ponderous entries swarthy gray 01 over er all like it lul cuna culli smithy tho the enor ellor thing stopped d hulf half n mile out with tile the gulls of the secondary but pointing at tile rhe land from un der her quarter around bow and stern nept destroyers destroy erv with cocked funnels spitting smoke and with ready alert men tit at tile lean little nuns gulls they moved straight for the little hit harbor arbur in ili along n long line on the abe bridge of the foremost forego tt nn allicer waved it hand at the crowd or of fishermen u on I 1 the I 1 ie shore pointed to his bis guns guna and with will a backward bick ward motion to the cruiser aye we take the lint hint blank ye growled nit mi old mail lie ile means ho fie turned to the lie rest that wed better not ninke mike a fuesl drop thrill that ile he turned sharply to n younger man who 11 hid d just joined the group lie ile lind had a shotgun lulf halt concealed under tinder tits ills coat coal are we going to take it wing laying lown down growled tile the armed ronn mon tile the old man mail pushed him backward arith n kli will both hands bands you fool that thing out there could ahw us ua off the island lali ind men women null and children as li we was dead maple denves afore a southeastern calel rho destroyers had bad stopped mopped the crews swung their guns guna toward the shore prom from tile the cruiser dropped alz fillips boats full of blue jacketti they 8 wung swung past the destroyers benched and it d formed in a line there was waa a click of breech bolts shot home no im quick flick that dint it was as but one sound pound A lieutenant advanced tits ills men with the swinging navy trot I 1 ile ho pointed to men in the little thron selecting six bis ot of tho c ones onea wo tal tile fund frind 1 fie tit on lonfy id fri 11 predie fall ini in WP hold you yon for tb ill ROOI good order of tile the rest of your apo VIP pip there must be no attempt at re while he be spoke another detachment of u the landing party lind had been busy among the huddle of boats lu in the harbor haring some were be being ing made up into a tow others othera were ere being scuttled at their A third detachment was knocking holes into the smaller itra f tha hauled tiled up ou on shore three still sall ors ora were just driving boat hooks through the bottom of nil an upturned catboat when a tall young oung fisherman leaped ut tit them with nil an oaken tiller handle bundle and struck one down the th othor other two closed on oil hlin blin but let go again almost instantly nt at the sound of a sharp order they tore themselves away and jumped aside there was another order in ili the samo same sharp voice instantly while tho the fisherman stiv stood staring with hta bill weapon in tho the motion of striking a biest of lire are spat nt at him from six e carbines ars ills ilia lead head went up exposing ills hla brond broad brown throat lie ile thrust ills hla hands before him nil all the fingers out spread with tits hla eyes wide open lie he tott tottered ercil and pitched faco face down an other order and tho the sailors wheeled covering the islanders auders Ibl daul danl screamed a girl lit in tho the crowd dont looka an older woman caught her around the neck and press el the girls face to her breast ile he brought it on oil himself said the lieutenant t to the fishermen shermen fl take warning that Is wart warl ile he turned rind walked to the beach the tbt dead man lay where lie ho bad fallen slowly clinching and un clinching their hands tho the big weather beaten bei itin strong men stared nt at the corpse that lay huddled so 0 o awkwardly behind the sailors one of the oman women touched a whito white haired white bearded islander on the arm wont they let us hue have him she ahe turned her eyes toward the dead vian man the old man mail addressed the tha lieutenant 1 I wanted to ask you lie he began but a signal trian man in ili min him pointing nt at his wall head tho block islander looked at him be w mildered wil dered impatiently the sailor point ed again and tile the islander understood reluctantly ho he took off his hat bat crushing its brita brim with the llie grip of helpless anger lie fie faced tile lie 1 I wanted to know sir if duebbe we h indicated tile the corpse orp be yes answered the officer shortly you can ime have biall with a change 11 in I 1 his voice lie he added 1 I 1 atu am acary ver ery yi sorry yes you ou may take him away CHAPTER V sweeping jhb ha floor clean por for the ih enemy army 0 fell brave block island it bad SO S greeted the with tho the stars atnia and serl natilee dumant ly in ili the fat fa of tho the invader the setting sun suit on oil the lag flag of the bellemy so tuu too had bad fallen the islands of nantucket and marthas vineyard with their stout hearted passionately american population lation they lad yield el e 1 nut ti to ignoble fear but to the lr ir of wari war the people of block island wat watching cLing di steaming slowly toward tho the new england coast with strings of their flailing fishing boats boata in tow noted n curious tiling thing every boat was laden with fish nets block island wondered what 11 fighting navy meant to do wivi with fish nets neta nantucket and blarel as vineyard wondered too for they also lad had bern been stripped of their gear following tile tho long tows with their heaped brown in own freight six cruisers moved toward the coast ench guarded by destroyers whose men watched the sea eca for n periscope or for the whitened broken water that would indicate the presence of a submarine A submarine cannot attack until it ha hag 11 risen near enough to the surface to lift its periscope above water thus obtained its ita aim lt it sub submerges merces again onty deep cleel enough to conceal me ine peti pen scope it irea fires its torpedo tori cdo blind when submerged it if it dives too deep it might mend the weapon harmlessly under tinder tle the ships keel hence it 14 possible often to apt abe disturbed whitened water above a submarine even though it li sunk bunk out of sight they moved fast until they were within three miles of land then they opened fire steaming rapidly up and down ship behind ship they loosed all their broadside batteries starboard nod anti port in turn simultaneously tit tin blast killed the wind and made tin nn infernal little kale gale of its own around each ship that spun pun in hot ascending column colum ni sur bur face are swimming elsh were struck dead and an I 1 floated tit in schools on the water allea ml les away even tile the bottom haunting cren creatures tures felt the shock and scurried into the lie sand and mud the chart under tinder the shaded light in the admirals cabin had a semicircle marked on lt it a |