Page:Robert William Cole - The Struggle for Empire; A Story of the Year 2236 (1900).djvu/101

Rh the Anglo-Saxons. The latter were now ready for action; all the gunners stood at their guns with their fingers on the triggers ready to fire at a moment's notice. The flag-ship of the Admiral-in-Chief retired to the rear; but the other flag-ships were drawn up by their divisions, ready to lead them to the attack. The Admiral-in-Chief displayed a signal to the whole fleet before it went into action. It was: 'England expects that every man will do his duty'—a signal which historical records tell us was used by a great commander in the old days of battles on the sea. There was frantic cheering on all the ships when the signal was read out, and everyone, from admiral to gunner, was determined to conquer or die. There was a little more preliminary manœuvring, and then the battle began.