Page:The Next Naval War - Eardley-Wilmot - 1894.djvu/41

 other boats were then passing Dunnose and had not yet been discovered. Pushing on, they gave St. Helen's Roads a wide berth, hoping to pass the Horse fort undetected. But the wind had now dropped and the Rattlesnake, a torpedo catcher patrolling between Selsea Bill and the Isle of Wight caught sight of the advancing flotilla. Turning her search light on the black specks in the distance the officer in command divined their mission. The preconcerted signal of two rockets in succession, followed by a gun, was instantly given, and in a few minutes the attention of the defenders, which had been drawn to the western entrance, was concentrated on stopping at all hazards this new attack. The critical moment for the boats had arrived, but there was no hesitation on the part of those in command. A single order "full speed," and guided by the lights on Southsea Beach, they made straight for the entrance of the harbour.

Though it could not be expected that such a daring operation as penetrating through the defences of our principal naval arsenal could be accomplished without great risk, more than one cause favoured its success. The tide was then nearly full flood, so there was no fear of boats grounding on the shoals that at low water impede free navigation. A light ram which, while it did not obscure the land, placed those in the forts at some disadvantage, was a meteorological condition C 2