"Hurrah! the enemy is coming out at last! To your guns, boys! Remember the _Maine_!" These and a score of other cries rang out, while men rushed hither and thither, dropping one garment or another as they ran, and kicking shoes right and left, for no jackie will do work worth the counting unless he is barefooted. Everybody had on his best clothing, but that did not matter, and down into the grimy depths of the big vessel dropped the firemen, coal heavers, and all the rest of the "black gang," as they are termed, for steam must be gotten up in a tremendous hurry or the enemy would surely get away. Ton after ton of coal was thrown onto the fires, and the firemen coaxed and coaxed until the black lumps grew first red and then white, and converted the water in the boilers into high-pressure steam. "Fire up! for the sake of the ship's honor, fire up!" came in a hoarse cry down the speaking-tube, and the men did fire up as never before, until all were ready to drop from the terrific heat. And all this while the engineers were watching their engines, oiling this part and that, and making every pound of steam do its utmost to send the great armored cruiser dashing and hissing through the sea to that point where the Spanish fleet was trying to escape. For Admiral Cervera could stand it no longer inside of the harbor. With the army of invasion at the very outskirts of Santiago, and with the American fleet beyond his bay of refuge, something must be done, and done quickly. He would run for it,--run at the top of his speed--and trust to luck, if not Providence, to get out of range and reach Cienfuegos or Havana. Santiago Bay was "too hot to hold him." It was the big prow of the _Maria Teresa_ that first showed itself, quickly followed by the _Vizcaya_, _Oquendo_, and _Colon_, with the torpedo boats _Pluton_ and _Furor_ bringing up closely in the rear. All were under a full head of steam, and the thick smoke shot up in heavy clouds from every funnel. For an instant all seemed to pause at the gateway to the sea, then, led by the _Maria Teresa_, they turned westward along the coast. To this side of the blockade now lay but three American warships, the _Brooklyn_, _Texas_, and the little _Vixen_. If he could only get out of range of these, Admiral Cervera felt that he would, for the time being at least, be safe. Boom! It was a three-pounder, fired from the _Iowa_, lying some distance to the eastward of the _Texas_. She, too, was flying the signal, "The enemy is escaping," in red and white and blue flags. Beyond the _Iowa_, still further eastward, lay the pride of the western coast, the mighty _Oregon_, and it was this ship that first started up her engines in pursuit, having, by chance, a good head of steam up. And as the _Oregon_ turned in one direction, the little _Resolute_ turned in the other, to carry the news to the absent rear-admiral.