But they did not understand the nature nor the
powers of these enemies. In less than twenty minutes
Crab A had laid hold of one of the men-of-war, and Crab
B of the other. The rudders of both were shattered and
torn away; and while the blades of one propeller were
crushed to pieces, the other, with nearly half its
shaft, was drawn out and dropped into the ocean.
Helplessly the two men-of-war rose and fell upon the
waves.

In obedience to orders from the repeller, each crab
took hold of one of the disabled vessels, and towed it
near the mouth of the harbour, where it was left.

The city was now in a state of feverish excitement,
which was intensified by the fact that a majority of
the people did not understand what had happened, while
those to whom this had been made plain could not
comprehend why such a thing should have been allowed to
happen. Three of Her Majesty's ships of war, equipped
and ready for action, had sailed out of the harbour,
and an apparently insignificant enemy, without firing a
gun, had put them into such a condition that they were
utterly unfit for service, and must be towed into a dry
dock. How could the Government, the municipality, the
army, or the navy explain this?

The anxiety, the excitement, the nervous desire to
know what had happened, and what might be expected
next, spread that evening to every part of the Dominion