There was an enemy battle-cruiser squadron in the offing; with several enemy light cruisers ahead of that squadron, and the weather was thickish and deceptive.  She sighted the enemy light cruiser, “class uncertain,” only a few thousand yards away, and “decided to attack her in order to frustrate her firing torpedoes at our Battle Fleet.” (This in case the authorities should think that light cruiser wished to buy rubber.) So she fell upon the light cruiser with every gun she had, at between two and four thousand yards, and secured a number of hits, just the same as at target practice.  While thus occupied she sighted out of the mist a squadron of enemy battle-cruisers that had worried her earlier in the afternoon.  Leaving the light cruiser, she closed to what she considered a reasonable distance of the newcomers, and let them have, as she thought, both her torpedoes.  She possessed an active Acting Sub-Lieutenant, who, though officers of that rank think otherwise, is not very far removed from an ordinary midshipman of the type one sees in tow of relatives at the Army and Navy Stores.  He sat astride one of the tubes to make quite sure things were in order, and fired when the sights came on.

But, at that very moment, a big shell hit the destroyer on the side and there was a tremendous escape of steam.  Believing—­since she had seen one torpedo leave the tube before the smash came—­believing that both her tubes had been fired, the destroyer turned away “at greatly reduced speed” (the shell reduced it), and passed, quite reasonably close, the light cruiser whom she had been hammering so faithfully till the larger game appeared.  Meantime, the Sub-Lieutenant was exploring what damage had been done by the big shell.  He discovered that only one of the two torpedoes had left the tubes, and “observing enemy light cruiser beam on and apparently temporarily stopped,” he fired the providential remainder at her, and it hit her below the conning-tower and well and truly exploded, as was witnessed by the Sub-Lieutenant himself, the Commander, a leading signalman, and several other ratings.  Luck continued to hold!  The Acting Sub-Lieutenant further reported that “we still had three torpedoes left and at the same time drew my attention to enemy’s line of battleships.”  They rather looked as if they were coming down with intent to assault.  So the Sub-Lieutenant fired the rest of the torpedoes, which at least started off correctly from the shell-shaken tubes, and must have crossed the enemy’s line.  When torpedoes turn up among a squadron, they upset the steering and distract the attention of all concerned.  Then the destroyer judged it time to take stock of her injuries.  Among other minor defects she could neither steam, steer, nor signal.

TOWING UNDER DIFFICULTIES