it a reality or only a delusion of his excited
senses? The dull thunder still smote on his ear; and, having listened
intently for a few moments, he jumped up, slipped on his clothes, and
hurried on deck. On the way he met several passengers, who had also been
woke by the report of the guns. As soon as he reached the deck, he saw
that another violent naval engagement was in progress.

The night was rather dark, but the flash from the guns showed fairly the
position of the enemy, which became perfectly clear, when a searchlight
from the Arethuse played over the surface of the water with dazzlingly
clear light. The huge hulks of two battleships, white and glittering,
emerged from the darkness. In addition, there were to be seen five
smaller warships and several small, low vessels, the torpedo-boats of
the British squadron, which was advancing to meet the French. Then,
bright as a miniature sun, a searchlight was turned on also by the
English. It was an interesting spectacle to notice how the two electric
lights, slowly turning round, as it were lugged each ship out of the
darkness, showing the guns where to aim.

The French squadron, whose commander was well aware of the enemy's
superiority, began to bestir itself rapidly. All the vessels, the
Caledonia included, turned round and retreated at full speed. But the
heavy English shells from the guns of the battleships were already
beginning to fall amongst them, although the distance might have been
three knots. Suddenly, when the Caledonia, in the course of a turning
manoeuvre, showed a broadside to the British fire, a sharp, violent
shock was felt, followed by the report of a violent explosion. The
Caledonia stopped dead, and loud cries of agony were heard from the
engine-room. The passengers, frightened to death, ran about the deck.
It could not be concealed from them that the ship had been struck by a
shell, which had exploded.

But it proved that the Caledonia, although badly injured, was in no
immediate danger. Only her speed and manoeuvring capacity had suffered
considerably owing to a steampipe having been hit.

The French warships retired as rapidly as possible, leaving the
Caledonia and the prize crew on board to their fate, since it was
impossible to take her with them. They were obliged to abandon the
valuable prize and rest content with their great success in the
destruction of the Royal Arthur and the capture of the O'Hara. The
Caledonia, being recognised b