THE DESTROYERS.
By Rudyard Kipling,
Author of "The Jungle Book," "The Seven Seas," "Captains Courageous," etc.
In a word, the torpedo has brought into the navy a fresh zest, a new romance, and possibilities more brilliant than were existent before its adoption.—Torpedoes and Torpedo Vessels: Lieutenant G. E. Armstrong.
The strength of twice three thousand horse
That seek the single goal—
The line that holds the signalled course,
The hate that swings the whole:
The stripped hulls, slinking through the gloom,
Half guessed and gone again—
The brides of death that wait the groom—
The Choosers of the Slain!
Offshore where sea and skyline blend
In rain, the daylight dies;
The sullen, shouldering swells attend
Night and our sacrifice.
Adown the stricken capes no flare—
No mark on spit or bar,—
Darkling and desperate we dare
The blind-fold game of war.
Nearer the wheeling beams that spell
The council of our foes;
Clearer the anxious earns that tell
Their scattered flank to close.
