Meanwhile the duel between the _Gneisenau_ and _Inflexible_ had been
going on. A 12-inch shell from one of the British cruisers struck one of
the after gun turrets of the _Gneisenau_ and swept it overboard. The
German ship used the sinking _Scharnhorst_ as a screen and tried to take
on both British ships. Still she was able to plant some effective shells
against the _Invincible_ as a final reply. By half-past five she was
listing heavily to starboard and her engines had stopped. The British
ship, thinking she was surely done for, ceased firing at her and watched
her for ten minutes, while a single gun on board of her fired at
intervals. The three ships _Carnarvon_, _Inflexible_, and _Invincible_
now closed in on her and punished her till the flag at her stern was
hauled down. But the ensign at her peak continued to fly. Just at six
o'clock, with this color still in position, she suddenly heeled to
starboard, while the men of her crew made hastily up her slanting decks
and then climbed over on to the exposed part of her upturned port side.
Many of these unfortunate men had time to jump into the sea, but others
were caught when she suddenly disappeared beneath the surface.

There remained the task of picking up her survivors, but they were not
numerous, for the shock of the cold water killed a large number. Having
picked up those whom they could, the three British ships signaled the
news of their victories to the distant cruisers which were fighting it
out with the _Dresden_, _Leipzig_, _Nuernberg_, and _Eitel Friedrich_.

These lighter German cruisers had left the line of battle and had turned
southward at just about the time that the action between the
_Scharnhorst_ and _Gneisenau_ and _Inflexible_ and _Invincible_ began.
They started off with the _Dresden_ at the foremost point of a triangle
and with the other two at the two remaining points. The _Glasgow_,
_Cornwall_, and _Kent_ went after them, while the _Carnarvon_, because
her speed was not high enough to accompany them, remained with the
battle cruisers. The _Glasgow_ drew up with the German ships first, and
at three o'clock began to fire on the _Leipzig_ at a distance of 12,000
yards. As in the other action of that afternoon, the British ship took
advantage of the fact that her guns had longer range, and she drew back
from the German ships so that their guns could not reach her, though her
own shells began to fall upon their decks. It was her object to keep
them