of six-inch
crystal glass running across the front of the conning-tower, which was
almost as strong as steel, and saw three little dark, moving spots on
the half-moonlit water, about two miles ahead, stealing up in line
abreast.

"Those chaps are trying to get in between the Spithead forts," said
Erskine. "They're slowed down to almost nothing, waiting for the clouds
to come over the moon, and then they'll make a dash for it. At least,
they think they will. I don't."

As he spoke he gave another turn to the steering-wheel and touched
another button. The _Ithuriel_ leapt forward again and swung about three
points to the eastward. In three minutes she was off Black Point, and
this movement brought her into a straight line with the three
destroyers. He gave the steering-wheel another half turn and her head
swung round in a short quarter circle. He put his finger on to the
bottom button on the right-hand side of the signal board and said to
Lennard:

"Hold tight now, she's going."

Lennard held tight, for he felt the floor jump harder under him this
time.

In the dim light he saw the nearest of the destroyers, as it seemed to
him, rush towards them sideways. Erskine touched another button. A
shudder ran through the fabric of the _Ithuriel_ and her bow rose above
five feet from the water. A couple of minutes later it hit the destroyer
amidships, rolled her over, broke her in two like a log of wood, amidst
a roar of crackling guns and a scream of escaping steam, went over her
and headed for the next one.

Lennard clenched his teeth and said nothing. He was thinking too hard to
say anything just then.

The second destroyer opened fire with her twelve-and six-pounders and
dropped a couple of torpedoes as the _Ithuriel_ rushed at her. The
_Ithuriel_ was now travelling at forty knots an hour. The torpedoes at
thirty. The combined speed was therefore nearly a hundred statute miles
an hour. Erskine saw the two white shapes drop into the water, their
courses converging towards him. A half turn of the wheel to port swung
the _Ithuriel_ out and just cleared them. It was a fairly narrow shave,
for one of them grated along her side, but the _Ithuriel_ had no angles.
The actual result was that one of the torpedoes deflected from its
course, hit the other one and both exploded. A mountain of foam-crowned
water rose up and the commander of the French destroyer congratulated
himself on the annihilation of at least one of the Engl