Explore "The Waif of the Cynthia" by Jules Verne on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
At the same time that he gave orders to pursue the "Albatross," Erik / also desired his men to get the cannon in readiness. The operation took / some time, and when they had everything in order the enemy was beyond / their reach. Doubtless they had taken advantage of the time occupied by / their stoppage to increase their fires, and they were two or three miles / ahead. This was not too great a distance for a Gatling gun to carry, but / the rolling and speed of the two vessels made it probable that they / would miss her; and they thought it better to wait, hoping that the / "Alaska" would gain upon the enemy. It soon became evident, however, / that the two vessels were equally matched, for the distance between them / remained about the same for several hours.
They were obliged to burn an enormous amount of coal -- an article which / was becoming very scarce on board the "Alaska" -- and this would be a / heavy loss if they could not succeed in overtaking the "Albatross" / before night set in. Erik did not think it right to do this without / consulting his crew. He therefore mounted the bridge, and frankly / explained to them the position in which he was placed.