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Tonet, however, with nothing in particular to lose on the venture, made fun of the old-tub a torpedo-boat he called her, she sat so low in the water! At dawn the Mala Dona was just visible, as an indistinct silhouette, over the stern, and an hour later they were fairly to sea.
One of these last came flying towards the yacht down the white path of the beam of light, and Tremayne, seeing that he would have to give an account of himself, stopped his engines and waited for the torpedo-boat to come within hail. "Steamer ahoy! Who are you? and where are you going to at that speed?" "This is the Lurline, the Earl of Alanmere's yacht, from Plymouth to Queenstown.
We're only going at our usual speed." "Oh, if it's the Lurline, you needn't say that," answered the officer who had hailed from the torpedo-boat, with a laugh. "Is Lord Alanmere on board?" "Yes, here I am," said Tremayne, replying instead of his sailing-master. "Is that you, Selwyn? I thought I recognised your voice."
The seaweed stood up on end like a heavy, dark vegetation and the deep currents made it wave gracefully, stretching and billowing like floating hair. Another shadow, a longer one. "That's the torpedo-boat," said Lupin. "We shall hear the roar of the guns presently. What will Duguay-Trouin do? Bombard the Needle?
Signal him by the International Code to put out his light, and to heave to, or we'll sink him." Mr. Smith bowed to his superior, found the numbers of these commands in the code book, and with a string of small flags at the signal-yard, and every man aboard viewing the world darkly through a smoky film, the torpedo-boat approached the stranger at thirty knots.
A small torpedo-boat was seen to emerge from the shore near the arsenal, making for the coal-laden steamers at a high rate of speed. The secondary batteries on the ships nearest were brought to bear upon her; it was a veritable shower of shot and shell which fell ahead, astern, and either side of her.
Even coast defence, however, although essentially passive, should have an element of offensive force, local in character, distinct from the offensive navy, of which nevertheless it forms a part. To take the offensive against a floating force it must itself be afloat naval. This offensive element of coast defence is to be found in the torpedo-boat, in its various developments.
Half-way down Channel we had trouble with a short circuit in our electric engines, and were compelled to run on the surface for several hours while we replaced one of the cam-shafts and renewed some washers. It was a ticklish time, for had a torpedo-boat come upon us we could not have dived. The perfect submarine of the future will surely have some alternative engines for such an emergency.
At length the commodore decided to send Jim in charge of the Blanco's torpedo-boat, with Terry O'Meara in charge of the engines. Montt was to take command of the Cochrane's launch; and a man named Juarez was given the command of the Hereschoff torpedo-boat, which was a craft of about sixteen tons displacement.
May 8. A brilliant, although unimportant, affair was that in which the torpedo-boat Winslow engaged off Cardenas Bay. The Winslow and gunboat Machias were on the blockade off Cardenas. In the harbour, defended by thickly strewn mines and torpedoes, three small gunboats had been bottled up since the beginning of the war.
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