sea in an
incredibly short time, thereby earning the praise of the
commander-in-chief.

Information had been received, and later in the day was confirmed, that
no less than five hostile submarines were known to be waiting in the
vicinity with the object of attacking any crippled ships from the battle
fleets, and it became the duty of the patrols to clear them away from
the lines of communication. For over twenty hours the seas around were
churned by the keels of a heterogeneous fleet of ships armed with
equally heterogeneous weapons. Guns' crews stayed by their weapons until
their limbs ached and look-outs searched the sea with burning eyes.
Through the short dark hours of a May night in northern latitudes
searchlights swept the near approaches, while in the black void of sea
and sky beyond myriads of mosquito craft moved over the face of the
waters with all lights out and their narrow decks cleared for action.
Alarms were frequent, and the occasional yellow flashes and sharp
reports of cordite, some too far distant to be visible, told their own
tale. In the treacherous light of early dawn the fins of big porpoises
were more than once mistaken for the hunted periscope.

* * * * *

With the Red Cross flotilla waiting behind the screen of patrols and
defences things had moved rapidly. Each little ship had been told off to
attend on one or other of the great warships which were hourly expected
from the battle zone. Stretchers, bedding, cots and slings were piled on
the decks, and extra hands had been lent for the work of removing the
wounded.

Another flotilla was in readiness to replace the casualties with
reinforcements, which had been concentrated by special trains, in order
that the battle fleets and squadrons might be again ready for sea in the
shortest possible time.

At the base trains and big ships were waiting with every known appliance
to alleviate the suffering which was coming in from the sea.

It was a typical May morning, with a light easterly breeze, when the
first of the great line of ships--H.M.S. _Lion_--came into view. A
hurricane of cheers greeted her from the deck of every ship that passed.
Then the gallant _Warspite_, low by the stern and scarred and torn by
tornadoes of shell; the _New Zealand_, scarcely touched by the fiery
ordeal; the plucky little light cruiser _Southampton_, holed and
battered; followed by cruiser after cruiser with attendant destroyers,
so