The torpedoes arrived at about thirty miles an hour, shoals of
them together, and showing no sign but the little line of bubbles from
their screws. But most of them were spotted and not one got home. The
_Revenge_ worked her perilous way between a couple, one just missing
her rudder and the other almost grazing her bows.
During the whole of this fourth round the fight went on by fits and
starts. Whenever any part of the enemy's line showed up through the
thickening mist the British guns turned on it with shattering salvoes.
The _Iron Duke_, whose gunnery was simply perfect, caught a big German
battleship for a few minutes only. But by the time the mist had shut
down again the German was like a furnace, seething with a mass of
flame. Meanwhile the battle cruisers were crumpling up their opposite
numbers in the German line, which thus became shorter and more
overlapped than ever. The _Lion_ and _Princess Royal_ each set their
opponent on fire, while the _New Zealand_ and _Indomitable_ drove
another clean out of line, heeling over, and burning furiously fore and
aft.
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