hips able to take their place in the fighting-line were left
outside. The French prisoners were disembarked and their places taken by
drafts from the British warships, who at once set about making such
repairs as were possible at sea. Admiral Beresford boarded the
_Ithuriel_, which, until the next fight, he proposed to use as a
despatch-boat, and ran up the harbour.

He found every jetty, including the North and South Railway piers, mere
masses of smoking ruins: but the Ordnance Depot on Priddy's Hard had
somehow escaped, probably through the ignorance of the assailants. He
landed at Sheer Jetty opposite Coaling Point, and before he was half-way
up the steps a short, rather stout man, in the undress uniform of a
General of Division, ran down and caught him by the hand. After him came
a taller, slimmer man with eyes like gimlets and a skin wrinkled and
tanned like Russian leather.

The first of the two men was General Sir John French, Commander-in-Chief
at Aldershot, and the second was General Sir Ian Hamilton, Commander of
the Southern Military District.

"Bravo, Beresford!" said General French, quietly. "Scooped the lot,
didn't you?"

"All that aren't at the bottom of the Channel. Good-morning, Hamilton.
I've heard that you're in a pretty bad way with your forts here,"
replied the Admiral. "By the way, how are the docks? I've got a few lame
ducks that want looking after badly."

"We've just been having a look round," replied General Hamilton. "The
town's in an awful state, as you can see. The Naval and Military
barracks, and the Naval School are wrecked, and we haven't been able to
save very much from the yards, but I don't think the docks are hurt
much. The sweeps went more for the buildings. We can find room for half
a dozen, I think, comfortably."

"That's just about what I want," said the Admiral. "We've lost the
_Hindustan_ and _New Zealand_. The _Canada_ and _Newfoundland_ are
pretty badly mauled, and I've got half a dozen Frenchmen that would be
all the better for a look over. The _Britain_, _Edward VII._, _Dominion_
and _Commonwealth_ are quite seaworthy, although, as you see, they've
had it pretty hot in their topworks. The cruiser squadron is practically
untouched. We've got the _Verite_, _Justice_ and _Democratie_, but the
_Verite_ has got her propellers and rudders smashed. By the way, that
ship of Erskine's, the _Ithuriel_, has turned out a perfect demon. She
smashed up the first attack, sank nine d