"The battle cruisers altered course instantly to continue the chase of the enemy armoured cruisers, but the Admiral, doubtless realising that, scattered as we were, each of the rest of us (already conversant with his general instructions) would be his own best judge as to where he could be most useful, left us to pick our own quarries. I made up my mind at once to go after the light cruisers, and, signalling 'Come on, _Kent_' (the Captain of the _Kent_ was my junior, and therefore subject to my orders in a case of this kind), headed off in the direction of what were still little more than three dark blurs on the south-westerly horizon. The _Glasgow_, which was a long way ahead to port, also decided (in view of instructions) in favour of going after the light cruisers, and, altering course sharply, passed astern of the battle cruisers and converged with the _Kent_ and _Cornwall_ in the chase. The _Carnarvon_, which for some reason was not steaming her best, and had been left a good distance astern, held on after the battle cruisers. The _Bristol_, which had been delayed in getting out of harbour, had been ordered to look after some steamers which had been following Von Spee, and which we believed to carry coal and provisions. We afterwards learned that one of them had a cargo of potatoes, and as potatoes chanced to be another of the many things which the _Cornwall_ was short of at this time, I have always harboured the same kind of grudge against the _Bristol_ for sinking these as I have against the _Invincible_ for putting down my salt pork. "As soon as it became evident what courses the Hun ships were steering, I signalled to the _Kent_ to go after the port ship, which turned out to be the _Nürnberg_, while I gave my attention to the middle one of the three, the _Leipzig_. This would have left the _Glasgow_ free to pursue and engage the third ship, the _Dresden_, which her twenty-six knots of speed should have enabled her to do handily. This plan, if it could have been carried out, would have made a clean sweep of Von Spee's squadron then and there, instead of giving the _Dresden_ a new lease on life, and some weeks more of uncertainty for merchant vessels of both the South Atlantic and Pacific. Where it slipped up was through the fact that the _Glasgow_ could not avoid engaging the _Leipzig en passant_ while endeavouring to get within range of the _Dresden_, and, once having taken on the latter, she was, bulldog-like, reluctant to draw off until her opponent was finished. As there was no other ship fast enough to catch up the _Dresden_, her escape was inevitable.