air.

The two British ships sped forward on the trail of the foe. But
the latter made off at top speed, and in spite of the shells
hurled at them by their pursuers, soon outdistanced the
Gloucester. The Sylph, however, continued the chase and was
gradually gaining, although, now that the battle was over for the
time being, the strain on the little cruiser relaxed. Wounded
men were hurriedly patched up by the ship's surgeon and his
assistants, and the dead were prepared for burial.

Jack and Frank approached Lord Hastings on the bridge. The
latter was talking to his first officer.

"They must be the Breslau and Goeben," he was saying, "though I
am unable to account for the manner in which they escaped the
blockade at Libau. They were supposed to be tightly bottled up
there and I was informed that their escape was impossible."

"Something has evidently gone wrong," suggested Lieutenant
Hetherington.

"They probably escaped by, a ruse of some kind," said Jack,
joining in the conversation.

And the lad was right, although he did not know it then.

The two German ships, tightly bottled up, even as Lord Hastings
had said, in Libau, had escaped the blockading British squadron
by the simple maneuver of reversing their lights, putting their