two o'clock P.M.
Fort Pilcher was a very large and unfinished fortification , on a bluff on the opposite side of the harbour . Work had been discontinued on it as soon as the Syndicate 's vessels had appeared off the port , for it was not desired to expose the builders and workmen to a possible bombardment . The place was now , therefore , almost deserted ; but after the receipt of the Syndicate 's message , the commandant feared that the enemy might throw an ordinary shell into the unfinished works , and he sent a boat across the bay to order away any workmen or others who might be lingering about the place . A little after two o'clock P.M. , an instantaneous motor-bomb was discharged from Repeller No. 1 into Fort Pilcher . It was set to act five seconds after impact with the object aimed at . It struck in a central portion of the unfinished fort , and having described a high curve in the air , descended not only with its own motive power , but with the force of gravitation , and penetrated deep into the earth . Five seconds later a vast brown cloud appeared on the Fort Pilcher promontory .