Page:Fighting in Cuban Waters.djvu/327

Rh battery of rapid-firing rifles, 6 and 10 pounders and two Maxim guns. Her torpedo tubes number four."

"Then they are no small fry to battle with," observed Walter. "When their batteries break loose they ought to do some talking."

"They will talk. We mustn't expect any walk over, if Cervera ever comes out of his hole."

"And what of the two torpedo boats?"

"They are sister ships, the Pluton and Furor, each of three hundred and eighty tons displacement. They say that each has a speed of twenty-seven knots an hour, and both are equipped with the latest appliances for such crafts, carrying regular, automatic, and rapid-fire guns, and also fourteen-inch Schwartzkopff torpedo tubes."

"I should say they would be good things to keep out of the way of," exclaimed Walter.

"We've got our eyes wide open for them, lad. To be sure, one or another of them may play us some dirty trick of a dark night—but that is one of the risks to be taken in war times," concluded the chief yeoman, as a petty officer called him away.

All on board the warships waited eagerly for