Came a cry from the lookout aboard the Russian cruiser.
“Cruiser off the port bow!”
Instantly all was haste and bustle aboard the war vessel.
“German cruiser!” came the next cry, and it was followed immediately by the cry of the Russian commander:
“Clear for action!”
“Now,” said Jack to Lord Hastings, “we shall see how the Russians fight.”
In spite of the fact that the ship bearing down on them appeared to be much larger, the Russian commander determined to give battle, and this, too, in face of his belief that one of the enemy’s submarines was trailing him.
At last the vessels came within range. A shell from the German struck the Russian squarely in the bow, cutting a deep hole and sending up a cloud of splinters, which, falling, laid three men low.
The first three Russian shells went wild.
“Rotten,” said Lord Hastings.