of the
Prince of Wales's Fund. Detached, though keen, interest changed,
however, as the weeks passed, to intimate alarm. The Governor, Mr.
Allardyce, received a wireless message from the Admiralty that he must
expect a raid. German cruisers were suspected to be in the
neighbourhood. Never before had the colony known such bustle and such
excitement. They, the inhabitants of the remote Falklands, were to play
a part in the struggle that was tugging at the roots of the world's
civilization. The exhilaration of expectancy and of danger broke
suddenly into their uneventful, though not easy, lives. But there was
cause for keen anxiety. The colonists were, however, reassured for a
time by a visit from three British warships, the cruisers _Good Hope_,
_Monmouth_, and _Glasgow_, with the armed liner _Otranto_.

[Sidenote: British warships arrive.]

[Sidenote: Search for German cruisers.]

The _Good Hope_ had, at the declaration of war, been patrolling the
Irish coast. She was ordered to sweep the Atlantic trade routes for
hostile cruisers. She reached the coast of North America, after many
false alarms, stopping English merchantmen on the way, and informing the
astonished skippers of the war and of their course in consequence. When
forty miles east of New York, Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher Cradock came
aboard with his staff, and hoisted his flag. The Admiral turned
southwards, sweeping constantly for the enemy. Passing through the West
Indies, he proceeded to the coast of Brazil. Here he was joined by the
_Glasgow_. The _Good Hope_ had picked up the _Monmouth_ previously. The
three ships, accompanied by the auxiliary cruiser _Otranto_, kept a
southerly course. The discovery at Pernambuco of twenty-three German
merchantmen snugly ensconced behind the breakwater, in neutral harbour,
proved very galling. The Straits of Magellan and the cold Tierra del
Fuego were at length reached. The squadron was on the scent of three
German cruisers, the _Leipzig_, _Dresden_, and _Nuernberg_. It was
suspected that they had gone to coal in this remote corner of the
oceans. Their secret and friendly wireless stations were heard talking
in code. The British made swoops upon wild and unsurveyed bays and
inlets. The land around was covered with ice and snow, and the many huge
glaciers formed a sight wonderful to behold. But the search had proved
fruitless. After rounding the Horn several times, the squadron had
turned towards the Falklands.

[Sid