wer were thrown aside without a thought. So there we
see them, grouped in the most exposed positions on their ships,
straining their eyes through the haze for the first glimpse of friend
or foe, and urging those below, at the fires and the throttle, to
squeeze out every fraction of a knot that boilers and turbines could
be made to yield.

[Illustration: PLATE IV. British Grand Fleet Approaching from
Northwest. Beatty turns eastward at 6 P.M. to meet Jellicoe and cap
Von Hipper. Von Hipper turns east to avoid cap.]

Word must have been received by wireless of the loss of the
_Indefatigable_ and the _Queen Mary_, while the battleships were still
fifty or sixty miles away, for Beatty at this time was running south
faster than Jellicoe could follow. It was perhaps at this time that
Hood was dispatched at full speed to add his three battle cruisers to
the four that remained to Beatty. They arrived upon the scene about
6.15 p. m., shortly after Beatty had turned eastward, and swung in
ahead of Beatty's column, which, as thus reenforced, consisted of
seven battle cruisers and four dreadnoughts (Plate IV). Admiral Beatty
writes in terms of enthusiastic admiration of the way in which Hood
brought his ships into action, and it is easy to understand the thrill
with which he must have welcomed this addition to his force.

But his satisfaction was not of long duration. Hardly had the
_Invincible_, Hood's flagship, settled down on her new course and
opened fire than she disappeared in a great burst of smoke and flame.
Here, as in the case of the _Indefatigable_ and the _Queen Mary_, the
appalling suddenness and completeness of the disaster makes it
impossible of explanation. The survivors from all three of the ships
totaled only about one hundred, and none of these are able to throw
any light upon the matter.

By this time Beatty's whole column had completed the turn from north
to east, and Jellicoe was in sight to the northward with his
twenty-five dreadnoughts, coming on at twenty knots or more straight
for the point where Beatty's column blocked his approach. Jellicoe
writes of this situation:

"Meanwhile, at 5.45 p. m., the report of guns had become audible to
me, and at 5.55 p. m. flashes were visible from ahead around to the
starboard beam, although in the mist no ships could be distinguished,
and the position of the enemy's fleet could not be determined.

"... At this period, when the battle fleet was meeting the battle