CERVERA'S MOVEMENTS. 303 power, but there was the fact that a torpedo boat well handled might dispose of the most powerful armoured warship, and the heavy armoured cruisers of the Spanish squadron were bymany supposed to be little inferior to battleships. Add to this that there were few ships under the Stars and Stripes which had anything like the speed of Cervera's squadron, and we canunderstand the alarm caused in the United States by the presence of this hostile fleet at the Cape Verde Islands. From this advanced point in the ocean the Spanish squadron might raid the ports of the Atlantic seaboard, or appear in the WestIndies to raise theblockadeof Havana, or sail for the South American coast,intercept the Oregon, and then make for the Pacific and restore the fortunes of Spain in the Philippines.

water and driving white feathers of foam from their sharp bows as they tried their speed. It was abrave sight, and the Spanish captains and their crews went out confident that they would soon send back stirring news to Spain. But not since theGrandArmadasailed to its destructionin the northern seas did a Spanish fleet go forth to sea to meet so terrible a fate as that which waitedfor Cervera.

The armed transport and the three smaller torpedo craft remained at anchor in the bay, and later sailed northward. The course of the cruiser and destroyer squadron was westward. As they gained the sea, a small merchant steamer, flying the English flag, put out from St. Vincent. For some hours she followed the fleet, but without keeping so close as to suggest that she was deliberately watching its movements. As the day wore on the squadron increasedits speed,and the steamer began to lose distance. At sundown the cruisers had got so far ahead that they were just beginning to get hull down on the western horizon, as seen from the steamer. They had made no appreciable change in their course, and were evidently heading for the West Indies. After dark the steamer ran back to St.Vincent. She was one of the press boats employed by the New York Herald, and the cable flashed the news to America that Cervera was at last onhis way to PuertoRico.

War was declared, and nevertheless for some days Cervera's squadron lay idly in harbour. The Cape Verde Islands are Portuguese territory, so that the fleet was anchored in neutral waters— a state of things that could not be allowed to continue long, unless the Lisbon Government was prepared to throw in its lot with that of Madrid. The fleet was reported to be short of coal and other supplies, but its deficiencies in this respect were certainly exaggerated. Some coal was taken on board at St. Vincent, and a quantity of ammunition was transferred from the Ciudad de Cadiz to the cruisers. All the ships were repainted a dead dull black while lying in the harbour, and quantities of boats, wooden fittings, and other impedimentawere transferred to the transport.

Experts calculated that he ought to be across the Atlantic in ten days. From St. Vincent in the Cape Verde Islands to San Juan in Puerto Rico isabout 2,400 miles. Inorderto economise coal and spare engines and boilers, a fleet, as a rule, makes a long voyage at about ten knots an hour. This would give 240 knots a day, and wouldbring the Spanish fleet to San Juanabout May 9th. The swift armed liners attached to Schley's " flying squadron" rushedout into the Atlantic to look for the enemy. With their high speed, it was expected that they would get in touch of it in mid ocean, and,avoiding an action, watch it back into West Indian waters, and give early and definite tidings of its approach. News was expected about May 7th. But the 7th came and there was no news. Ships arriving from Atlantic voyages gave vague reports of having seen the smoke of a great fleet, now here, now there. Anxious watchers at look-out stations on the New England coast thought they had seen Spanish cruisers in the offing. But none of these rumours stood the test of examination. Schley's swift scouts swept On Thursday, April 28th, it was clear that a move was near at hand. Smoke was pouring from the funnels of all the cruisers in the afternoon. They were getting up steam, and it looked as if their coal was not of the best quality. There was another sign of impending departure. It was noticed that the Spanish navalofficers werepaying their bills and bidding good-bye to friends. At sunrise next morning the anchors of the cruisers were coming up. It was a Friday, a day that the average sailor considers veryunlucky for starting on avoyage. The fluttering flags on the Maria Teresa signalled the order to get under weigh, and the flagship proudly led the cruiser squadron out 01 the harbour, saluting the Portuguese battery with her quick-firers as she glided out into the ocean. Behind her came the great black hulls of her three consorts, and, abeam in another line,Villamil ledhis flotilla,the three destroyers, Furor, Terror, and Plulon, lying low in '.he