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The Angel Of The Revolution | George Chetwynd Griffith | |
A Skirmish In The Clouds |
Page 5 of 6 |
This was the last blow struck in the first aerial battle in the history of warfare. The Russians had no stomach for this kind of fighting. It was all very well to sail over armies and fortresses on the earth and drop shells upon them without danger of retaliation; but this was an entirely different matter. Three of the aerostats had been destroyed in little more than as many minutes, so utterly destroyed that not a vestige of them remained, and the whole squadron had not been able to strike a blow in self-defence. They carried no guns, not even small arms, for they had no use for them in the work that they had to do. There were only two alternatives before them--surrender or piecemeal destruction. As soon as she had destroyed the third aerostat, the Orion swerved round again, and began flying round the squadron as before in an opposite direction to the Ariel. None of the aerostats made an attempt to break the strange blockage again. As the circles narrowed they crowded closer and closer together, like a flock of sheep surrounded by wolves. Meanwhile the Ithuriel, floating above the centre of the disordered squadron, descended slowly until she hung a hundred feet above the highest of them. Then Arnold with his searchlight flashed a signal to the Ariel which at once slowed down, the Orion continuing, on her circular course as before. As soon as the Ariel was going slowly enough for him to make himself heard, Mazanoff shouted through a speaking trumpet-- "Will you surrender, or fight it out?" |
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The Angel Of The Revolution George Chetwynd Griffith |
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