The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Boy Allies at Jutland, by Robert L. Drake

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Title: The Boy Allies at Jutland

Author: Robert L. Drake

Release Date: November 14, 2003 [eBook #10081]

Language: English

Chatacter set encoding: US-ASCII

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The Boy Allies At Jutland

or

The Greatest Naval Battle of History

By Ensign ROBERT L. DRAKE

AUTHOR OF

"The Boy Allies Under the Sea"
"The Boy Allies In the Baltic"
"The Boy Allies on the North Sea Patrol"
"The Boy Allies Under Two Flags"
"The Boy Allies with the Flying Squadron"
"The Boy Allies with the Terror of the Seas"

1917

CHAPTER I

H.M.S. "QUEEN MARY"

A great, long, gray shape moved swiftly through the waters of the
Thames. Smoke, pouring from three different points in the middle of
this great shape, ascended, straight in the air some distance, then,
caught by the wind, drifted westward.

It was growing dark. Several hours before, this ocean greyhound--one of
Great Britain's monster sea-fighters--had up-anchored and left her
dock--where she had been undergoing slight repairs--heading eastward
down the river.

Men lined the rails of the monster ship. These were her crew--or some
of her crew, to be exact--for the others were engaged in duties that
prevented them from waving to the crowds that thronged the shore--as
did the men on deck.

Sharp orders carried across the water to the ears of those on shore.
The officers were issuing commands. Men left the rail and disappeared
from the view of the spectators as they hurried to perform their
duties. Came several sharp blasts of the vessel's siren; a moment later
her speed increased and as she slid easily through the waters of the
river, a cheer went up from both shores.

The crowd strained its eyes. Far down the river now the giant
battleship was disappearing from the sight of the men and women who
lined the banks. In vain, a few moments later, did many eyes try to
pierce the darkness. The battleship was lost to sight.

The vessel that had