he Spanish lookouts saw all this and told their admiral what
they had seen. So, on that Sunday morning, with every vessel under full
steam, the Spaniards raised their anchors and started on their last
cruise.

Now let us take a look at the big ships outside. On these everybody was
keeping Sunday. The officers had put on their best Sunday clothes, and
the men were lying or lounging idly about the deck. Of course, there
were lookouts aloft. Great ships like these always have their lookouts.
A war-vessel never quite goes to sleep. It always keeps one eye open.
This Sunday morning the lookouts saw smoke coming up the harbor, but
likely enough they thought that the Spaniards were frying fish for their
Sunday breakfast.

[Illustration: THE FIGHTING TOP OF THE TEXAS.]

And so the hours went on until it was about half-past nine. Then an
officer on the _Brooklyn_ called to the lookout aloft:

"Isn't that smoke moving?"

The answer came back with a yell that made everybody jump:

"There's a big ship coming out of the harbor!"

In a second the groups of officers and men were on their feet and
wide-awake. The Spaniards were coming! Nobody now wanted to be at home
or to go a-fishing. There were bigger fish coming into their net.

"Clear the ship for action!" cried Commodore Schley.

From every part of the ship the men rushed to their quarters. Far down
below the stokers began to shovel coal like mad into the furnaces. In
the turrets the gun-crews hurried to get their guns ready. The news
spread like lightning, and the men made ready like magic for the
terrible work before them.

It was the same on all the ships as on the _Brooklyn_, for all of them
saw the Spaniards coming. Down past the wreck of the _Merrimac_ sped
Cervera's ships, and headed for the open sea. First came the _Maria
Teresa_, the admiral's flagship. Then came the _Vizcaya_, the
_Oquendo_, and the _Cristobal Colon_, and after them the two
torpedo-boats.

"Full speed ahead! Open fire!" roared the commodore from the bridge of
the _Brooklyn_, and in a second there came a great roar and a huge iron
globe went screaming towards the Spanish ships.

It was the same on the other ships. Five minutes before they had been
swinging lazily on the long rolling waves, everybody at rest. Now clouds
of black smoke came pouring from their funnels, every man was at his
post, every gun ready for action, and the great ships were beginning to
move through the water at the fu