Page:Robert William Cole - The Struggle for Empire; A Story of the Year 2236 (1900).djvu/132

120 along, dashing alike into friend and foe in the confusion. In a few minutes what was left of the Anglo-Saxon fleet emerged on the other side, but there were only thirty vessels remaining out of the vast fleet. Some were rocking from side to side from the effects of the shock, while others were spinning round. There was not a ship that had escaped unscathed.

The captains looked round to see what had been the effect of the charge. The enemy's line was annihilated; their ships were mixed up together in inextricable confusion. More than a hundred vessels had been rendered hors de combat.

But there was little cause for self-congratulation. Fresh lines of the enemy's ships were bearing down on the devoted bands of Anglo-Saxons. Onward they came, their bright sides, as yet untouched by shot or shell, gleaming in the flashes of the searchlights. Wearily, but bravely, the vanquished men ran out their guns, and prepared to destroy until they were