Then shrugging his shoulders, he seated himself at the stern without altering the course of the "Terror." A quarter of an hour later, I could see plainly that there were two smoke clouds at the point they had studied so carefully.

Little by little the black spots beneath these became more defined.

They were two long, low steamers, which, coming from the port of Buffalo, were approaching rapidly.
Suddenly it struck me that these were the two torpedo destroyers of which Mr.Ward had spoken, and which I had been told to summon in case of need.
These destroyers were of the newest type, the swiftest boats yet constructed in the country.

Driven by powerful engines of the latest make, they had covered almost thirty miles an hour.

It is true, the "Terror" commanded an even greater speed, and always, if she were surrounded so that flight was impossible, she could submerge herself out of reach of all pursuit.