Greatest surprise of all came to the captain of the _Taglan Castle_ when he received the following signal:
"Slow down to thirteen knots, and do not part company."
To the captain's "I am carrying the mails," came the laconic message, "I know."
For ten days the four ships kept together, then came the sensation of the voyage. At dawn of the tenth day, a big steamer came into view over the horizon. She was in the direct path of the flotilla, and to all appearance she was stationary. Those who were on deck at that early hour heard shrill bugle sounds from the escorting warships, then suddenly the engines of the _Taglan_ stopped, and a crowd of curious passengers came running up from below. The _Taglan Castle_ had obeyed a peremptory order given by the _St. George_, and was hove-to.
The _St. George_ and _Doris_ went on; then, from the funnels of the stationary steamer, came clouds of smoke, and, through their telescope, the passengers saw her turn slowly and move.
Slowly, slowly she got under way, then----
The forward 9.2 gun of the _St. George_ emitted a thin straight streak of flame, and there was a strange whining noise in the air.
The _Doris_ came into action at the same time as the _St. George_ fired her second gun. Both shots fell short, and the spray of the _ricochets_ leapt up into the air.
The fugitive steamer was now moving at full speed; there was a great fan-shaped patch of white water at her stern.
All this time the two British warships were going ahead, firing as they went. Then, from the stern of the strange steamer, floated a whiff of white smoke, and, in a second, the eerie whine of a shell came to the passengers who crowded the deck of the _Taglan Castle_. The shell missed the firing warships; indeed, it did not seem to be aimed in their direction, but it fell uncomfortably close to the mail boat. Another shell fell wide of the steamer, but in a line with her. The manoeuvre of the flying vessel was now apparent. She carried heavier metal than the second-class cruisers of the British fleet, but her object was to disable the mail boat.
The captain of the _Taglan_ did not wait for orders; he rung his engines full speed ahead, and swung his helm hard aport. He was going to steam back out of range.