hips fitting out in
the harbour were the missing fleet.

At last, on 12 May, came definite news of one unit of the squadron. The
night before the destroyer "Furor" had paid a flying visit in the dark to
the French port of St. Pierre, in Martinique, probably calling for cabled
information and orders. On the 12th the "Terror" visited the same port in
broad daylight. That evening, from the hills of Martinique, four large
cruisers were seen far out at sea, steering northwards, under easy steam.
The cable from Martinique by St. Lucia to the States was out of order, and
it was not till the 15th that Admiral Sampson received the news. Several of
his heavy ships were coaling at Key West. He hurried on the work, and sent
his lighter ships to watch the Windward and Mona Passages. He sent off
Schley with the Flying Squadron to the south of Cuba, with orders to sweep
the island-fringed Caribbean sea and watch the Yucatan Channel with his
cruisers. As soon as he had completed coaling he himself sailed for the
waters north of Cuba.

Once more there was for a while no news of Cervera. After dark on 12 May he
had altered his northern course and steered a little south of west, making
for the Dutch island of Curacao, where he expected to find some tramp
steamers laden with coal and other supplies awaiting him. On Saturday, 14
May, the "Maria Teresa" and the "Vizcaya" entered the port, the two other
cruisers, accompanied by two destroyers, remaining outside. The expected
colliers had not arrived; the Dutch authorities insisted on Cervera leaving
Curacao within twenty-four hours, and he sailed on the Sunday without being
able to fill up his bunkers. Once more the United States cruisers failed to
sight him, as he steamed slowly across the Caribbean Sea, husbanding his
coal and steering for Cuba.

On Wednesday, 18 May, three American warships were off Santiago de Cuba.
They came so close in that the Morro battery at the entrance fired upon
them. Before sundown they steamed away. They had missed Cervera by a few
hours, for at sunrise next morning he brought his four cruisers and two
destroyers into Santiago harbour.

Santiago is the oldest Spanish city in Cuba, and was its capital in the
early days before Havana was founded.

The old city stands at the head of a landlocked arm of the sea, surrounded
by forest-clad hills, and approached through narrow ravine-like straits.
Cervera had come there to obtain coal and supplies. If he had made i