A portion of the shell had penetrated to her magazine, and she had blown up, nearly half her crew being killed by the terrific force of the explosion. Many of the remaining men, however, scrambled on board the Caïman, which by some means had come into slight collision with her; but scarcely had the last terrified man left the sinking vessel, when the Camperdown's powerful ram entered the Caïman's bows, breaking her hull, and she also foundered, carrying down with her not only her own crew, but also the survivors of the Terrible.
This success was witnessed with satisfaction by the British Admiral, who nevertheless saw how seriously weakened was his force, and how critical was the position of his few remaining ships. Yet he remained quite cool, for the heavy guns of the steel monster in whose conning-tower he stood continued thundering forth their projectiles, and the White Ensign still loomed defiantly through the dense black smoke, fluttering in the freshening breeze that was now springing up.
Although a number of the enemy's vessels had been sunk, he knew the issue must be fatal to his force, for they were now surrounded by a number of ships so vastly superior to them in armament and speed, that to die fighting was their only course.
Though the cockpits were full, true British indomitable courage was showing itself everywhere on board our ships. Officers by words of encouragement incited their men to splendid heroic deeds, and guns' crews, with dark determined faces, seeing only death ahead, resolved to fight and struggle to the last for the honour of the Union Jack, which should never be surmounted by the Tricolor.
A moment later, the captain, standing with the Admiral, who had just entered the conning-tower of the Royal Sovereign, suddenly uttered a cry of dismay, and with transfixed, horrified gaze pointed with his finger to the sea.
Breathlessly the Admiral looked in the direction indicated.
Though one of the bravest men in the Navy, and on his breast he wore the Victoria Cross, his eyes fell upon a sight that appalled him.
It was a critical moment.
A small French vessel, the unarmoured cruiser Faucon, had crept up unnoticed. The attention of the British officers had been, until that moment, concentrated upon the three powerful battleships, the Requin, the Dévastation, and the Jemappes, which kept up their hot fire upon the flagship, causing terrible destruction. Now, however, the British Admiral saw himself surrounded by the enemy, and the sight which caused his heart to beat quickly was a distinct line of bubbles upon the water, advancing with terrific speed, showing that a torpedo had been ejected from the Faucon directly at his ship!
In the conning-tower all knew their danger, but not a man spoke. Both the Admiral and the captain at the same instant saw the death-dealing projectile advancing, and both retained their coolness and presence of mind. The captain, shouting an order, sprang back and touched one of the electric signals, which was instantly responded to.