Chapter 18

ON BOARD THE "TONNANT."

After the failure of Lieutenant Davon's mission with the _Sword_, the
English authorities waited in vain for the expedition to return, and
the conviction at length gained ground that the bold sailors had
perished; but whether the _Sword_ had been lost by striking against
a rock or had been destroyed by Ker Karraje's pirates, could not, of
course, be ascertained.

The object of the expedition, based upon the indications of the
document found in the keg that was thrown up on the shore at St.
George, was to carry off Thomas Roch ere his engines were completed.
The French inventor having been recovered--without forgetting Engineer
Simon Hart--he was to be handed over to the care of the Bermudan
authorities. That done, there would be nothing to fear from his
fulgurator when the island was attacked.

When, however, the _Sword_ had been given up for lost, another
expedition of a different kind, was decided upon.

The time that had elapsed--nearly eight weeks--from the date of the
document found in the keg, had to be taken into consideration. It
was thought that during the interval, Ker Karraje might have gained
possession of Roch's secrets.

An _entente_ concluded between the maritime powers, resulted in the
sending of five warships to Bermudan waters. As there was a vast
cavern inside Back Cup mountain, it was decided to attempt to bring
the latter down like the walls of a bastion, by bombarding it with
powerful modern artillery.

The squadron assembled at the entrance to the Chesapeake, in Virginia,
and sailed for the archipelago, which was sighted on the evening of
November 17.

The next morning the vessel selected for the first attack, steamed
forward. It was about four and a half miles from the island, when
three engines, after passing the vessel, swerved round and exploded
about sixty yards from her. She sank immediately.

The effect of the explosion, which was superior to any previously
obtained by new explosives, was instantaneous. Even at the distance
they were from the spot where it occurred, the four remaining ships
felt the shock severely.

Two things were to be deduced from this sudden catastrophe:

1.--The pirate Ker Karraje was in possession of Roch's fulgurator.

2.--The new engine possessed the destructive power attributed to it by
its inventor.

After the disappearance of the unfortunate cruiser, the other vessels
lowered boats to pick up a few survivors who were clinging to the
floating wreckage.

Then it was that the signals were exchanged and the warships started
towards the island.

The swiftest of them, the _Tonnant_, a French cruiser, forged ahead
while the others