The bugle call "Cease fire" does not necessarily imply that all is over; it may only mean a temporary cessation or lull in the action; but when the "Secure" is sounded, there is no mistaking that the fight is finished. This is followed by the "Disperse," when all guns are secured, ammunition returned, and all the magazines and shell rooms locked up. Then a large number of the men are free; orders are given to the engine-room department regarding the speed required, enabling some of the stokers told off as relief parties and employed in trimming coal to be released. As a general rule, however, the guns are kept manned and speed is not reduced after a modern naval action, so that the number of men released from duty is comparatively small. Perhaps the enemy is sinking, when the seamen will be engaged in turning out boats preparatory to saving life. The men who are unemployed watch the sinking of an enemy ship with very different sentiments. All experience a glow of satisfaction, and most men will pity the poor wretches who are drowning or clinging more or less hopelessly to floating pieces of wreckage. A few are entirely callous, deeming such emotions a sign of weakness in view of the many atrocities committed by the enemy. This scarcely applied after the battle of the Falkland Islands, where the "Hymn of Hate" and other German propaganda fostering feelings of enmity had not embittered men's minds. Lastly, there comes the utter physical weariness both of mind and body, attended by an intense longing for food, drink, and sleep, accompanied by the pleasant thought that the war will now soon be over. Officers crowd into the wardroom to get a drink and something to eat. The galley fire will be out, for the chef has been passing up ammunition, so no hot food, tea, or cocoa will be available for some little time. A walk round the ship reveals men lying in all sorts of impossible postures, too done up to bother about eating; others are crowding round the canteen, or getting any food that they can on the mess deck. After the battle of the Falkland Islands one of the boy stewards who had been passing up shell during the action was found in the ammunition passage, "dead to the world," lying athwart an old washtub. There he was, in that stale and stuffy atmosphere, in the most uncomfortable position imaginable, fast asleep, completely worn out from sheer exhaustion, with his head and arms dangling over one side of the tub. A large number have to continue their labours on watch in the engine room or on deck, in spite of having the greatest difficulty in keeping their eyes open. The extreme tension and strain is over, and it requires a strong effort to resist the temptation to let things slide and relapse into a state of inanition.