Syndicate intended to confine itself to marine
operations, and for the present it was contented with
these two classes of vessels.

The armament for each of the large vessels, as has
been said before, consisted of a single gun of long
range, and the ammunition was confined entirely to a
new style of projectile, which had never yet been used
in warfare. The material and construction of this
projectile were known only to three members of the
Syndicate, who had invented and perfected it, and it
was on account of their possession of this secret
that they had been invited to join that body.

This projectile was not, in the ordinary sense of
the word, an explosive, and was named by its inventors,
"The Instantaneous Motor." It was discharged from an
ordinary cannon, but no gunpowder or other explosive
compound was used to propel it. The bomb possessed, in
itself the necessary power of propulsion, and the gun
was used merely to give it the proper direction.

These bombs were cylindrical in form, and pointed
at the outer end. They were filled with hundreds of
small tubes, each radiating outward from a central
line. Those in the middle third of the bomb pointed
directly outward, while those in its front portion were
inclined forward at a slight angle, and those in the
rear portion backward at the same angle. One tube at
the end of the bomb, and pointing directly backward,