An appalling crash, outvoicing the simultaneous barks of the British guns, denoted the disconcerting fact that one, at least, of the hostile projectiles had "got home."
Pungent fumes drifted aft; splinters, hurled high in the air, began to fall all around the gun's crews.
"Steady, men, steady!" shouted Aubyn encouragingly, for some of the crew were attracted by the sound and were endeavouring to ascertain the result of the havoc. "Never mind that. Keep at it."
Even as he spoke the "Saraband" swung round quite fifteen degrees to port, thus exposing her length and lofty freeboard to the German vessel. The gunners of the latter were not slow to take advantage. One shell crashed through the side amidships, just above the water-line, and completely wrecked the passengers' third-class dining-room. Fortunately, owing to Captain Ramshaw's precautions, this part of the ship was unoccupied.
A second shell, ricochetting a hundred yards off, leapt up and wrecked the after-funnel, causing dense volumes of smoke to eddy along the alleyways.
The first projectile that hit the "Saraband" was responsible for the damage done by the other two. Bursting underneath the bridge it demolished that structure, sending the breastwork of sacks of flour far and wide like an avalanche.
Captain Ramshaw and Chief Officer Lymore were both flung from the crumbling structure on to the cargo hatch abaft the foremost. Fortunately beyond being considerably shaken, they were not seriously hurt, but with the destruction of the bridge the steam steering-gear was affected, and this caused the "Saraband" to begin to circle to port.
Although partly dazed by the fall, the "old man," with a true seaman's instinctive sense, knew that the ship was fairly off her course. Staggering to his feet he made his way across the chaotic pile of flour-sacks, many of which had been ripped open by fragments of shell, and ordered the hand steering-gear to be manned. In five minutes the "Saraband" was once more under control, although the demolition of one of her funnels and the consequent reduction of draft caused an appreciable diminution in speed.
While the ship was broadside on to the enemy the gun under Aubyn's orders was temporarily out of action. It could not be trained upon the "Osnabruck" without a serious risk of injury to the second gun's crew by the blast from the weapon.
It was indeed fortunate that while in this position she was not sent to the bottom. According to the rules of naval strategy and tactics she ought to have been, were it not for the indifferent aim of the German gun-layers.